Arranged Marriage
by Techie.freq
Summary: Edward Cullen and Bella Swan are going for 'An arranged marriage', but it is more like 'A marriage of convenience'. Will they find the love?
1. Chapter 1

**BPOV**

"Don't you look just beautiful?" My mother, Renee Swan gushed as she stared lovingly me in the mirror. She put her hand on my chin and smiled, "He's going to flatter over you. You have no idea how happy you've made us by taking this decision. Believe me. You'll never regret it."

_Are you done?_ I wanted to snap at her. We were living in twenty first century and it was truly unbelievable that I was getting ready to meet the person of my parents' choice; a person they had chosen for me.

"You're one and only heiress of the 'Swan Industries'," her father, Charles Swan had said her once, "Sometimes I feel that you fail to understand what that means. You can't marry any trashy person."

Alright, I got his point that I should marry some rich dude. But Emmett Cullen was rich, for God's sake! He was richer than us for sure!

I couldn't understand why my father dislikes Emmett. Well, as per his explanation, Emmett was a 'trash', but his elder brother was not!

_Are you kidding me?_

"Look sweetie, when I married your dad, we weren't in love. In fact, we didn't even know each other properly, which is definitely not going to be the case with you and Edward. We're not forcing you to get married. We're just saying that you both should meet, get to know each other and if you feel compatible with each other, then only…"

_Compatible ?_ Yeah right. I rolled me eyes.

"You can say the same even for your grandparents." She was still going on.

"Mom…" I sighed and tried to put a fake smile on my face, "I want to be alone for some time. Please?"

She seemed to be lost in thoughts for few minutes before she replied, "Okay!"

I closed the door of my room as soon as she was out, and immediately dialed Emmett's number.

"Where the hell are you, Emmett? Where are you planning to talk to your family about us?" I said as soon as he received the call. I was totally done with this bullshit. "I don't want to meet your brother. Don't you get it, damn it?"

"Hey… Hey… Bella… Just chill…" he chuckled.

"Chill? Are you kidding me? Do you even understand the seriousness of this matter, Emmett? My family wants me to get married to your brother. Do you even  
realize how ridiculous does that sound? Why the hell didn't you do anything till now?" I was fuming with the anger.

"Oh come on, Bella. You know I was on a business trip and it wasn't possible for me… Just let it go. Just do one thing. Meet me at my home. Right now."

"Now?" I said incredulously.

"Yes. Now." He said confidently, "I'm calling Edward to meet us at my place, too. We'll tell him everything and…"

"But why can't you just tell him alone? What's the need of me?"

"Don't ask questions, Bella. Edward is the only one who can help us. He's the only one who will understand me before I talk to my parents. You need to be there, believe me. Just meet me. I'll explain you everything."

"Emmett please…" I groaned, " How can I come there now when I am supposed to meet your brother within an hour? Oh Lord! This sounds ridiculous!"

"Aah… You seem very excited for it." he chuckled.

"Just shut the fuck up, Emmett. I'm not at all in the mood to laugh at your inane jokes."

"Come on, baby," he insisted, "Just do as I follow. Everyone will understand us and will be happy for us. We'll tell everyone about everything. We just need to convince Edward first. Come at my place. Just… trust me."

Of course, I trusted him, and hence without informing to anyone, I made my way towards his home.

I was shocked when I found out that Emmett wasn't at his home when I reached there. Did that person have a little bit of sense in him? Why the fuck do I love him so much, I asked myself.

I dialed his number immediately as I ignored the multiple missed calls from my parents, and of course, he didn't receive it. Where the hell was he? I was going to have a few words with him when I meet him.

But what was I supposed to do now? To wait for him, or to rush back at the home, where it would be very difficult for me to explain my parents.

I had thought Emmett would make everything okay. But just look here, there was no fucking sign of him.

Suddenly I realized that he could be at his best friend Riley Biers' place. No, he wouldn't be, my mind replied. He was supposed to be here, why would he be there? But may be, there was no harm in checking, I thought.

Why didn't Emmett take any action before today?

Why did I even agree to meet Edward Cullen?

Why did I listen to my parents?

On my way to Riley's house, I kept asking such questions for which I had no answers.

My anger reached at its new height as I saw Emmett's car standing outside of Riley's house.

"I'm going to kill him…" I muttered as I parked my car and almost ran towards his home.

I was about to knock on the door when I hear a sound of Emmett's laughter and noticed that the door was already open.

"Bella Swan is a fool. A fool." I almost froze in my place as I heard him saying, "What did she think? You can insult Emmett Cullen and can live with a peace? Hell, she's so dumb." He laughed out loud, "She thought I could fall in love with her after what she did to me. Aahhh… How about a..._ 'No'_?" he laughed again, "And to answer your question, Well, I called her to meet me because you know how Edward is. He hates unpunctual people. He'll never agree to marry Bella. Plus, I've hired someone at my home. If everything is going by my plan, we might get photographs of Bella Swan in compromising position with someone." he laughed like a maniac,"Imagine the reactions of Edward and my parents when they come to know that those photographs are from today…" He blew off a whistle.

"You're genius, Man." I heard Riley.

I had never felt so defeated in my life.

I was shocked to feel and think anything.

I was mad at me. How could I let that bastard…?

But this wasn't the time to cry, I said as I brushed the angry tears which were falling down my cheeks. If I waste a single moment here, that would be the victory of Emmett Cullen.

"Mom?" I said I rushed to my car and dialed my mother's number.

"Bella, where the hell are you for God's sake? I was calling…"

"Mom, don't ask questions, please… I'm calling to let you know that I'll directly go to the hotel to meet Edward."

"But…"

"I told you don't ask questions, please… I'll explain you later." I said and hung up the phone.

On my whole way, I couldn't stop crying. I had been such a fool.

_"She's such dumb."_

Emmett was right at least in this case. Indeed if I were smart, I would never have fallen for him. But it was too late.

I checked my face in the rear mirror for few times before getting out of the car as I reached the 'Hotel Twilight', one of the best of Seattle.

Emmett Cullen had made enough fun of me, not anymore, I firmly decided. I am not going to let him win.

That's when I received a text from some unknown number.

_"Hey, I want to talk to you. It's urgent._

_-Edward Cullen"_


	2. Chapter 2

**BPOV**

_Edward Cullen?_

Why would he want to meet me? May be I should rephrase the question. Why would he want to meet me _before_ our supposed 'official' dinner gathering? And  
why did he write that 'It's urgent'? What could be the possible reasons?

My mind started racing. Did Emmett tell him something? I highly doubted this possibility. Emmett Cullen was a coward bastard. If he wanted to let his family know about me, he would have done that a long time ago. And why would he tell them? Because he knew that if he told them about me, I wouldn't shut my mouth, too! All he wanted was to get a revenge with me, to destroy me emotionally. I felt the anger I had been trying to suppress was there again.

"That fucking bastard…" I muttered under my breath.

I couldn't let that piece of shit control my life. I shouldn't let him win. I told myself.

At this moment the biggest question was, why did Edward Cullen want to meet me?

Before I could think further, I received a call from the same number!

"Hello?" I asked.

"Ms Bella Swan?"

"Yeah… Speaking…"

"Hi… It's Edward Cullen. I know you wouldn't be expecting my call at the moment, but there is some important matter I'd like to discuss with you." He said.  
I couldn't guess what could be the matter he would want to discuss with me. "Actually I am thinking there's no need for us to meet. We can have a telephonic conversation."

"Mmm… We were supposed to meet within few minutes, right? In fact, I've already reached at the 'Twilight', so…"

"Oh, you're there already?" he asked.

"Mmm... _yes_?" I said.

"Oh! I should had called you earlier." he said, which increased the level of my confusion.

"Well, I'm just on my way then. I'm sorry, you'll have to wait for some minutes." he said.

"It's okay. I'm waiting." I replied.

What could be the matter? The reputation of Edward Cullen was entirely different from that of Emmett Cullen. Emmett was just a wild party animal, a prodigal son and a playboy. Edward Cullen on the other hand was, the successful CEO of Cullen Industries, and one of the most eligible bachelors of the town. He was known for his intelligence, smartness and his maturity. So, the point was, if he wanted to meet me so urgently, there must be some reason. What could be the reason?

I realized that it wouldn't be fair to Edward if I agreed to marry him just to beat Emmett. He deserved better. I decided to tell him that I couldn't marry him, without stating the true reason.

Twenty minutes later, Edward Cullen arrived. I had seen him many times before, at some parties or social gatherings. But probably, this was the first time I'd be talking to him.

"Hello." He smiled at me. He looked so different from Emmett. Nobody could tell by looking at their faces that they were brothers.

"Hi…" I tried to smile back.

"I'm sorry you had to wait."

"It's okay." I said.

"No, it's not." He insisted, "I hate when anyone has to wait for anyone. Time is money." He said without any emotion.

Well… _okay?_

"We should go inside. I've already booked a table. I'm sorry I should have told you earlier. I'm sorry you had to wait outside."

Why was he apologizing so much, for God's sake?

"Look Ms Swan…" he said after we gave our orders.

"Bella… You can call me Bella." I said.

"Alright…" he said, "Look Bella, I know you're definitely confused about this meeting." Did he love to use the word 'the meeting' or what?

"Look… I should have done this earlier. I'm sorry for that." he apologized yet again.

Come to the point. I wanted to snap.

"Look… You know why our parents wanted us to meet, right?" he continued without showing any emotion," I just want to tell you that… I can't marry you."

I choked on my drink. Did Emmett tell him anything or…?

"Look, I'm sorry…" he continued, "I should have told you a few days ago."

_Few days ago?_ Well, this seemed like it had nothing to do with Emmett.

"I want you to know that this has nothing to do with you. I don't want to feel you uncomfortable. It's my mistake. I shouldn't had agreed for this whole thing  
in the first place. I'd tell this again. It has nothing to do with you. The thing is, I'm still not over the heartbreak I had in the college." He smiled weakly, "And I think, you deserve better."

I was still in a shock to reply anything.

"Once again, I'd like to say that I'm really sorry…" he said.

I wanted to laugh out loud. How ridiculous was this situation! Here, I was making plans about how to hell him that I couldn't marry him, and just look at this. He didn't even give me a chance to say anything.

But still, I needed to tell him something, right?

_You've no idea, how happy you've made me._ I wanted to say. "It's okay." I said.

_Right now, you might be my favorite person in the world._ I wanted to say. "I've no idea why are you apologizing to me." I said.

_I've heard many times that Edward and Emmett Cullen are opposite polar ends, but today I agreed with them._ I wanted to say. "It's not like we're engaged or something. Today, for the first time we have met, right? You don't owe me any explanation or any apology."

_Now if only you can put some sense in your asshole brother…_I wanted to say, "So yeah… No need to apologize." I smiled.

For the first time in the evening, a huge smile appeared on his face as he said,

"You've no idea how glad I am by your reaction. The best one I've got till now." He said.

_The best one I've got till now?_ What the hell did he mean by that?

"So, I'm not the first one to whom you've told this thing, eh?" I joked.

He seemed in confusion for seconds about whether to tell me or not before he said, "Well, yeah." He shrugged his shoulder, "Let's see how many more times I'll need to go through this."

I couldn't restrain my laughter. So, he goes through this routine again and again? Why the hell couldn't he say a 'No' for the arranged marriage to his family instead?

Aahh… Look who's speaking, I asked myself. Life would be much easier if it was that easy to convince one's family.

"No but seriously, you're really good." He chuckled, "One of these women, my mother had selected for me," he rolled his eyes before continuing, "She said I had no right to break her heart like this. She said she had already made plans for our future. We hadn't even met before for Christ's sake!" he groaned, "Thankfully, I was able to convince my mother that the girl was too immature."

"That's funny." I smiled.

"So, this is your first time or…?" he asked.

He was cracking me up. After coming back from Emmett's place, I hadn't thought I'd laugh for days, but I was glad I was wrong. There was no point in crying over that bastard.

I looked at him and laughed again. The way he asked,_ 'Is this your first time or…' _Boy, it looked like a question someone would ask about someone's virginity.

"No, it's my first time." I replied, trying to look as sincere as possible.

"Oh, lucky you." He replied.

"But I can't say this would be my last time." I said, and felt like I'd burst into laughter at any moment. It's a good thing he wasn't aware about what was I  
thinking.

"Same here." He said without any emotion.

The rest of the dinner passed in silence as neither of us had anything to talk about.

"All the best for the future such kind of meetings." I smiled while parting our ways.

"Oh I do need that." He said, "And yeah, same to you."

"Thanks." I laughed.

I couldn't help giggling during my ride to the home as I remembered this evening.

It was ridiculous, and the way he asked, 'Is it your first time?' was priceless.

The next thing was so irritating- To describe this evening to my mother. I told her briefly that Edward wasn't interested in the marriage as he was not over his past yet.

"I don't believe this." She replied, "I feel like definitely you had told him something."

"What did you mean by that?" I asked, puzzled.

"You're too much, Bella. I know you didn't want to marry him, but what did you tell him tonight? Tell me, for God's sake. You don't care about our reputation, do you? Just tell me. What did you tell him? Tell me the truth."

I stared at her in disbelief. "I'm saying the truth, Mom."

"I don't trust you. You didn't tell me yet where you had eloped in the evening?" she raised her eyebrow.

"I…"

I had no answer for that. I didn't want to tell her about how Emmett Cullen had made a fool of me, and how I had let him do so.

"I'm saying the truth." I said firmly, "I don't give a damn whether you want to believe it or not." I said and rushed to my bedroom.

Later in the night, I was shocked to receive a call from Emmett.

Why was he calling me now?

It didn't take too long to reject the call. But he didn't stop there. He continued calling me for I didn't know how long. What did he want now, I asked myself, before receiving the call.

"Hey baby… Why are you ignoring my calls? And why didn't you come at my place in the evening? And what am I hearing? Edward and you're not marrying? What did you tell him? Did you tell him the truth or…? I mean, I'm happy, you know?" he was speaking breathlessly, " Everything is okay now. We can talk to our parents about us, right?"

"Shut the fuck up, Emmet Cullen." I said firmly.

_"Wh-what?"_ He sounded shocked; he should be.

"I know everything. _Everything_." I said.

_"What are…? How?_ What are you talking about, Bella?"

"Don't you dare to utter my name from your filthy mouth. I know you used me to get a revenge with me." I snapped, "And don't you dare try to call me again."

"Aahh… So you know." He began laughing, which took me by surprise. "But your dumb ass took it so long. Well, I'm not interested in talking to you either. I got what I wanted. I made a fool of you. And… you're not gonna be my sister-in-law either." He laughed like a maniac, "So yeah, life is good for me and you can go to hell now."

He said and hung up.

I sat there like a statue for some minutes. Nobody had ever insulted me like this in my whole life. I was fuming with anger as I threw the pillows on the floor. I felt like I would become crazy.

I couldn't sleep for a minute during the whole night. I just kept thinking.

In the morning, everything was crystal clear in my mind.

I smiled, as I sent a text message to Edward Cullen.

_"Hey, I want to meet you._  
_-Bella"_


	3. Chapter 3

**BPOV**

_"Hey,_

_I want to meet you._

_-Bella"_

I waited for the reply after sending the message. Time began to fly, but there was no alert in my phone. I began to get nervous. Why the heck he wasn't  
responding, I thought. But that's when I noticed the time in my watch.

It was only 6:00 am!

_Just that you couldn't sleep for the whole night doesn't mean everyone would be awake too, Ms Bella Swan,_ I told myself.

So how long did I need to wait? An hour? Two hours? What if, Edward Cullen was a non-morning person like me? What if, I had to wait longer?

That's when my phone began to ring.

_Oh my God! He called!_

"Hello." I took a deep breath and began.

"Hello? You texted me? What's wrong?" he said in a groggy voice.

_Poor guy._ It seemed he has just woken up. He must have been surprised to see my message.

"Yeah. I… I wanted to meet you." I said.

"Why?" he sounded amused; he should be.

"I'll let you know when we meet. Please… It's important. But I know you must be busy, so we can meet whenever you're free." I said.

"Why do you want to meet?" he asked.

"I want to discuss something with important." I replied.

"My first meeting it at Can we meet at Nine? Is it fine with you?" he sounded impatient.

"Perfect." I smiled.

"At Twilight?" he asked.

"Fine with me."

"Can you please give me the outline of the meeting?" he asked and I couldn't help chuckling.

_Outline. _

_Meeting._

This person definitely loved using such formal words! Was I sure about my decision, I asked myself again.

_Yes. I was._ I snapped at myself before I could change my decision.

Edward must be having a panic attack at the moment. He must have been thinking that I was like one of his _ex-candidates_ who tried to force him for the marriage.

Well, he wouldn't be completely wrong if he's thinking like that!

"I'll tell you everything when we meet." I smiled.

* * *

"Hi…" he said as he saw me.

"Hey…" I smiled back.

"What's the matter?" he asked impatiently.

"Shouldn't we go inside first?" I smiled.

"Yeah sure." He said but he looked a little bit irritated.

We remained silent until we took our position in the café of the hotel and gave our orders.

"Tell me." He said.

"Alright." I took a deep breath. "Look, don't get me wrong, but..." I hesitated, "Please try to listen to me first before arriving at any conclusion."

"What's the matter?" He raised his eyebrow.

"I know you're wondering why had I sent you the text in such an early morning and…Once again, I'm sorry for that. But I didn't notice the time when I sent you the text."

"Why don't you come to the point directly?" he roamed his hand in the hair as he asked. He seemed very annoyed.

This made me smile and I realized that may be, my planning wasn't too bad actually.

First, he seemed impatient and a little bit short tampered; just like me. We definitely had some similarities!

And another thing, probably for the first time I had noticed his face carefully when he roamed his hand in his hair. Well, what can I say? He was one hell of a handsome man.

_You're cheap, Bella._ I told myself.

So the point was, it wouldn't suck to have him as my husband.

_My husband?_

He hadn't agreed yet, Ms Swan!

"Hello? Where have you lost?" he asked, looking more irritated than ever.

"Ummm? Sorry…" I blushed a bit. "Yeah, don't get me wrong, please. Look, yesterday we heard only your story. Mine is yet to be told." I smiled.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"Look Edward, you're not the only one whose family is forcing him to tie the knot. Another person is sitting right there in front of you. You do know that, right?" I chuckled.

"Can you please come to the point?" he said without any emotion.

"See, I know that you had had some heartbreak in the college, but what you don't know is, same is my case." I lied, but it was necessary to proceed with my plan.

"Why are you telling me this? We already agreed that we don't want any… I mean, we're not interested in getting married to each other." He said, looking confused.

"I think we should get married." I said, fearing what his reaction would be."Yup. That's exactly what we should do."

"What?" he almost shouted, but soon realized that we were sitting in a public place, so he lowered his voice, and asked again, "What? What the hell are you  
talking about?"

"Just think about it. You aren't interested in getting married." I paused, "Me neither. But our families wouldn't leave with a peace. At some point, it may happen that we would have to give up, and we would have to marry someone. Someone, who deserves somebody, who would love him or her. And we might not be capable of it." I said. I had no idea what the hell I was talking about! "You're getting what am I saying, right?"

"No. I don't understand anything." he said.

I continued, "So, why don't we both get married instead? I won't expect anything from you. You can still live your life as if you're single. We both can live our individual lives and…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he seemed to be a bit angry now.

I stayed calm because I had expected the exact reaction.

"I'm not saying that we should get married without knowing each other. We shouldn't marry without checking whether we can trust each other or not, neither am I saying that you should tell me about your decision right now. It's just a proposal. Just think about it. Just think…" I said calmly.

_What a slut! I just met her once and she alr_eady proposed me! And she thinks I'd agree with her. She's worse than anyone I've met before. Why had I even come here to meet her in the first place?

Definitely these were the things going through his mind right now as I noticed him silently playing with his coffee mug.

"Look, I'm not saying that you've to agree with me." I interrupted his thoughts, "I know you're thinking like, how to trust this woman, right?" I said as I sipped the coffee.

He looked at me as if he's ready to kill me at any moment. Thank God, we had decided to meet at this public place or he could have indeed killed me!

"I know you're thinking that I'm the craziest women you've encountered till now… "

"Indeed." He muttered.

"See, I know everything." I chuckled.

"Do you think this matter is some kind of joke or something?" he snapped.

"No, it's not." I said, "But I really do see it as a good plan. You may not know much about me, but I know a lot of stuff about you. I mean, who doesn't? Edward Cullen, one of the 'most eligible bachelor' of Seattle." I chuckled, "But believe me, I didn't give a damn about that tag when my parents told me that they were trying to hook me up with you. In fact, I had pointed out many 'not-so-good' things about you." I chuckled, "Like, you don't seem to know how to smile."

"Why the hell are you telling me all these?" he said in his usual emotionless tone.

"Well, the answer to your question is, I want you to know that I don't give a damn about your position, your money, or your 'most eligible bachelor' tag." He seemed a little surprised to hear that. "Sorry, if I turned out to be harsh, that wasn't my intention." I smiled, "I just want you to know that those things don't matter to me."

"But why would you want to waste your life by marrying me?" he asked.

Well, that was some progress. At least, he had begun thinking about it as a possibility. _Good!_

"I was crazily in love with someone; I still am." I lied again, "I can't see myself loving anybody else except him. But I am well aware of the fact that my parents would never live in a peace till I'm single." I smiled weakly, "After hearing from your side I began to think it may be a good thing if we make an agreement instead of getting married to someone who would have a lot of expectations from us."

"That is, only if you agree, of course." I smiled as I continued, "I'm not asking you to tell me anything today. Hell, I know it's difficult to trust someone who has proposed something like this. But I want you to know that you can trust me. You can ask me anything. You can call me in case you decide to agree… _for this._"

"We should go I think." He said as he noticed our empty cups of coffee.

"Okay." I smiled.

Even though he didn't agree, I wasn't disappointed. I knew he would need some time to think. He was Edward Cullen. I knew he wasn't going to take any decision without doing a Ph.D. on this matter!

If he agrees, Great. It would kill that fucker, that's his brother.

If he doesn't agree, well… I didn't want to think about that option.

Later that night, I couldn't help grinning as I received a text.

_"We have to meet to check whether we can trust each other or not._

_-E"_


	4. Chapter 4

**BPOV**

"So… what would you want to know about me?" I asked Edward as we met the next day.

"Many things." He shrugged his shoulder. "M first question is, what should be the duration of..." he paused, "_this wedding?"_

_He agreed!_

"_Duration?_" I asked, puzzled.

"There should be some duration, right?" he took a sip of wine as he continued, "You can't expect us to stay married forever!" he chuckled.

He _chuckled_! I was astonished about the fact that he did know how to do that.

"Yeah of course." I said, "We can't stay married forever." Even though I hadn't thought about such an important aspect, he was correct.

But what about the consequences of our divorce?

_ I can think about it later._ I thought. Right now, there's only one thing in my mind- To marry Edward Cullen.

"A year?" he asked and continued without waiting for my opinion, "It sounds perfect to me. You know, to convince my family that I tried my best to work on the marriage, but my efforts go into vain. And… I'm sure they wouldn't force me for this 'arranged marriage' bullshit again." He said, "What are your ideas?"

"Eh?" I laughed, "So, you would prove to your family that this marriage has failed because of me? Wow!"

He didn't reciprocal my laughter as he continued in a serious tone, "Well don't mind, but that's exactly what I've been thinking. Likewise, you can say to your family that the marriage has failed because of me. So it would be perfect, you know? Nobody would force you for the marriage either. Simple." He shrugged his shoulder.

_Simple?_ I didn't think it was going to be that easy. But we'd get a year to think about it. I agreed with him that a year would be the best option. Two years  
would be too long, and six months might look too short.

"Okay, a year sounds good." I said. "And now, I would like to say something."

"Proceed." He replied.

_Proceed?_ This person was a robot! Still, I stifled my annoyance as I began, "You know, you can have other… "I paused, "Sexual relationships. I don't… mind."

"No, I won't." he said.

He took me by surprise by saying that.

"No, I won't have other relationships." He said, "The reasons are… First, I never cheat. I know, it's not like we'd be getting married for real, but still… that would be the cheating for me."

I dropped my jaw a little bit. How in the world was he Emmett Cullen's brother?

He continued, "And second, I'm not interested in giving you any opportunity to have a part in my property." He smirked.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" I raised my eyebrow.

"You know,_' Edward Cullen cheats on his wife, and it costs him 50 Million dollars.'_" He said in a jocular tone.

"Oh please…" I shook my head in disbelief. "I think I've made this clear. I'm not interested in your money. I've more than enough of that. You know, I'm the one and only heiress of the Swan empire."

"I know… But nowadays, you can't trust anyone when it comes to money." He winked, "So this was my next point. It would be in the agreement that neither of us would get anything from the other one at the time of the divorce."

"Deal." I gave a laconic reply."My turn to put a condition. You can take that as a request as well." I made an innocent face, "Not a single member from our families should know about this."

"Why would I tell anything to my family?" he looked amused, "That's the reason we're doing this."

"Yeah, I mean... Please don't tell anything to your brother or sister too, you know?" I said, "I won't feel comfortable if they know about this."

"Big deal." he shrugged his shoulder.

_Good._ Emmett shouldn't come to know about anything.

"So... We're getting married, right?" I smiled.

"We've to make an agreement first." he said without any emotion.

_I know, okay? No need to show the attitude all the time._ I wanted to snap, but may be I'd tell him after the marriage. Right now, I needed to control my anger.

"Of course." I smiled.

* * *

I knew many people in my circle who had opted for 'An Arranged Marriage' or 'A marriage of convenience'. It wasn't unusual in my part of world, but I never thought I'd be the one to do the same.

It had been a week since we had signed on the agreement, and we were planning to break the news to our families tomorrow.

We had not told anybody about anything till now, as we thought it would be the best option. Because earlier I had told my parents that Edward had refused for the marriage because he wasn't over his heartbreak. So, it was pretty obvious that we couldn't told them just after a week that _'Hey! Now we're ready for the marriage!'_

We both had decided to wait for another fifteen days for this, because it would appear more natural. We were planning to tell them that we had met for few times during these days and decided that we were quite compatible with each other, and we're ready for the marriage.

And hence, we were in this café right now, preparing the final outline about how to break the news.

"I'm a little bit nervous," I said, "What if, they catch our lies? "

"Why would they catch our lies?" he shrugged his shoulder, "We're not going to lie that much, are we?"

"Really?" I said incredulously, "You think the amount of our lies aren't enough?"

"Look, we're saying we've met for several times in past few days, which is a hundred percent truth. We're going to tell them that we feel we're compatible with each other, which is… well, it's not completely true, but not a complete lie either. I mean, if we're not compatible, we wouldn't have agreed for this thing, right?" he kept going, "Then we're gonna tell them that we're ready for the marriage. Again, a completely correct statement."

I waited for him to burst into a laughter, or even showing a little smile, but he didn't; so instead of him, I laughed out loud.

"You're too much." I said.

"What do you find so funny in that? I'm just stating the reasons that we aren't lying much."

"Yeah right." I rolled my eyes. How could any person be this boring!

"Still, I hope we can convince them." I said. I didn't know why was I so nervous today.

"Would you mind if… I kiss you right now?" Suddenly he said.

I choked on my coffee. What the hell did he just say? Did he just say what I think I had heard? Or were my ears deceiving me?

"Don't look so surprised. Try to act normal." He lowered his voice. "My sister is here." He said. "Jane is the gossip queen of our house."

"What?" I asked, feeling puzzled. Why was he telling me about his teenage sister right now?

"Gossiping is her favorite hobby." He smiled a little bit, "She's looking at us right now." He said as he looked at me. "So… if she saw us kissing now, well, we  
don't have to do much. She'll go and like, _'Mom! I saw bro kissing Bella Swan. Yeah, I swear… They look so in love!'_" he mimicked and rolled his eyes.

I chuckled. Wow! He could do mimicry, too. I was impressed.

But yeah, he was right. If Jane saw us and would act as he was expecting her to, then ninety nine percent of our problem could be solved. It would look natural that we're spending time together, and were indeed ready for the marriage. Nobody would get a chance to doubt anything.

"Alright." I said, "Kiss me."

"Okay…" he said as he moved towards me. Well, this was awkward, but I was prepared for this. I mean, I knew we had to kiss sometimes in public, but didn't  
know it would come too soon.

Before I could think further he put his lips on mine, and before I could respond he pulled it away.

"I don't think I've done anything so stupid in my life before." He chuckled. "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Me, too." I laughed.

"Well, it's a good thing that we both are laughing." He said, "Jane would say they were looking so happy together." He laughed.

"I knew, she'd leave as soon as she sees this. I just knew it." He was serious once again, "Probably within an hour, my mother should know about this."

I didn't understand. Was he laughing for real, or was he just... acting?

"Were you laughing for real a moment ago?" I decided to ask him.

"What? What do you mean by that?" he looked confused.

"I mean, you were laughing for real, or you were just acting... ?"

"Oh God…" he rolled his eyes, "Here's the breaking news. I do laugh sometimes." He chuckled.

"Wow! I'm impressed." I teased.


	5. Chapter 5

**BPOV**

"Is it true?" my mother rushed to my room later that night.

May be, Edward was correct after all. His sister had done it!

_Good for us._

"What?" I tried to look normal, without taking my eyes off my iPad.

"You're dating Edward Cullen? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She shot questions at me.

"How did you know about this?" I tried to sound surprised.

"Oh come on…" she chuckled, "Mama knows it all."

My mother was such a liar. How shamelessly she said that. As if Edward's mother hadn't told her anything!

"Now spill the beans."

"Mom…" I paused, "I was going to tell you, but it's still so early. We're trying to know each other."

"Oh!" she beamed, "That's nice. But you need to tell me one thing. You told us earlier that Edward was still in love with somebody, then how come the situation has changed suddenly?"

Well, I was ready with the answer for this most obvious question.

"Well… he had lied eariler." I shrugged my shoulder.

"What? Why would he lie?" she asked with a confusion.

"He's just like me." I chuckled weakly, "He didn't want to do this 'arranged marriage'. He was furious that his family was forcing him to get married. So he lied, just to make sure that he wouldn't have to marry the woman of his family's choice." I laughed.

I was turning into such a liar. I was definitely going to the hell.

"What's wrong with this new generation?" She shook her head in disbelief, "You should know that your parents always think the best of you. Believe me, 'the best'."

"Aah… Even better than we can think for ourselves?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes." She said confidently, "Anyway, when and how did you start seeing each other?" she asked.

"We… just…" I stutter, "He had asked me on the very next day, and I had disagreed initially, but later, I agreed and well…" I smiled, "Then we began dating."

"So you agree that our choice was perfect for you, right?" she smiled widely.

Grrrrr….

"Mom, it's still to early, but yeah, I kind of agree with you." I smiled.

"Wow!" she squealed, "I'm so happy." She took me in a warm embrace.

"But you've to tell me, Mom. How did you come to know about this?" I continued my acting.

"Esme told me. Edward's sister saw you in the café and she told her." She smiled.

"Oh!" I tried to look surprised.

So, Edward's plan had worked out perfectly!

* * *

For the next two weeks, we continued our 'dating', in the eyes of our families.

We hadn't met much during this period as we thought there was no need for it. The agreement was set and families were happy to know the news. So, we didn't think it was necessary for us to meet.

And tomorrow, our engagement is going to be announced in a big, fat bash. Our mothers were too excited to wait longer, and we didn't mind either.

But one more interesting event is going to happen today. Emmett had been on a vacation with his friends for these last few days, and today he's coming back.

_Poor him._

He's going to get one of the biggest shocks of his life when he returns. Jane had come up with a plan that we'd give him a surprise when he comes back. I loved that girl. She seemed really cute and sweet. In fact, the whole Cullen family seemed nice, except that motherfucker.

Hence, I was at the Cullen house right now. His family had planned this little family dinner.

"And this is Edward's room." She chuckled, "I've kept it as it was," she paused, "Before he moved to his new house." She smiled.

"Doesn't he look a sweetheart?" she asked, as she showed me his photo from his childhood.

"He sure does." I said I looked it. He seemed so mischievous in every photo, and he was laughing like crazy in each one. Where did his smile disappear, I thought.

"And this one…With Emmett and Jane. Edward is the best brother one could ever have." She smiled, "Emmett and Jane are his babies."

I was going to reply her, when I heard someone's squeal, "Hey Mom! Where the hell are you?"

That was _Emmett_.

So, he was back.

Suddenly I found my confidence shaking.

"Mom! Where the heck are you?" Emmett was still shouting.

"God, none of my children has learned a thing called 'patience'." Esme smiled at me as we made our way towards Emmett.

"Hey Mom!" he smiled as soon as he saw her, but his smile vanished into a thin air as his eyes fell upon me.

Suddenly I regained my confidence as I saw his colorless face.

_Yeah dude! It's me. Your eyes are not deceiving you ._ I wanted to say.

I tried to think what could be going on in his mind.

_What the hell is Bella Swan doing here? And Why the hell is she smiling? How? What?_

It took many efforts from my side to control my devilish smile.

"You…" he said.

"Bella Swan." Esme introduced me, "Your to be sister-in-law."  
"What?" he almost screamed, but he recovered too soon for my liking. "Edward agreed? Oh… That's… That's just great."

I shouldn't be surprised by his change of reactions. He was a great actor, a great chameleon.

"So, Bella? I think as we've met already, there is no need for this introduction, right?" he smiled at me.

Damn!

"You've met already? Bella didn't mention anything." Esme said with a confusion.

"Oh you didn't?" he smirked.

"Ummm… I don't remember… meeting you before." I stutter.

"We had met once at Alice Whitlock's birthday bash, if you can recall it. It was just a casual conversation which had lasted only for a few seconds. I can understand why you don't seem to remember it. What can I say? I'm a plain, forgetful man, Unlike you. _A sexy, graceful, beautiful woman_." He winked. I gasped in disbelief.

"Emmett, you're too much." Esme shook her head. "For God's sake. She's going to be your sister. Spare her from your flirting."

"I'm just kidding." he chuckled.

I began to feel like I had underestimated this person.

"Welcome to the family, Ms Swan." He hugged me, and whispered in my ears, "I'm impressed. I feel like the game has just begun."

And that just reinforced my gut feeling that may be, I was making a huge mistake.

But I had no option other than to continue with the plan, because I couldn't come up with any better option to beat Emmett Cullen!

"You know Bella, Edward had a huge crush on his second grade teacher." Esme said as we had begun our dinner after Carlisle and Edward had arrived. Thankfully, Emmett wasn't present as he had to go to somewhere else. I wasn't sure if indeed he had to go somewhere or he just lied, but anyway, his absence made this dinner a pleasant affair.

"Is it?" I smiled.

"Mom please…" Edward said in an irritating tone.

"He was so sad when she got married," Jane chuckled, "You should see that video when he came to know about that thing. He was crying hysterically…"

I laughed, but come on… This wasn't a laugh worthy topic. I,too, had cried once when one of my handsome teacher had got married. So, there was yet another similarity between Edward and I.

"Is this the actual story of your heartbreak? Is this the reason why you don't want to get married?" I slowly whispered to him and the look he gave me in the return… Damn!I thought he was going to kill me.

Note to self: Never ever mention that topic again.

* * *

Later that night, I thought may be I should call him to tell him that I was just kidding. I mean, any normal person would understand that I was obviously joking, but Edward Cullen was far from being a normal person.

"Hello?" he received the call.

"Hello? Sorry to call you at this time. Are you awake?" I started in a formal way.

"I don't speak in my sleep, so yeah, I'm awake."

I snorted. Why was he acting like a smart jerk now?

"Ummm… I just wanted to apologize for… you know, the comment I had made regarding... your past. I didn't mean it."

"I know." he said.

"I was just joking." I said.

"I know."

Can't he say something else?

"Do you have any idea, which kind of look you had given to me? I was so scared…" I chuckled.

"Sorry for that." He said.

"What are you doing, by the way?" I asked.

"I'm thinking about your engagement ring."

_What?_ That wasn't the reply I was expecting at all.

"What?" I asked.

"You're going to return it when we part our ways, right?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" I was still confused.

"Hell! You could have selected some cheap, five thousand dollar ring for this temporary engagement. Instead, you selected a million dollar ring. Damn you  
woman!"

I laughed out loud.

"You're so obsessed with money, dude. Come on! Edward Cullen's fiancee can't wear a cheap ring like that. And please don't exaggerate. It's not a million dollar ring! And well, the answer to your question is, no, I'm not going to return it." I joked.

"How can I forget to put this condition in the agreement?" he continued, "But hey, I didn't have an idea at that time that you were going to select a million dollar ring."

I laughed out loud again. "You're so funny."

"I think, this marriage is going to cost me a lot." He chuckled. "I feel I'm going to lose something precious."


	6. Chapter 6

**BPOV**

"I must say it's a very beautiful ring indeed." Jane commented.

"That's my million dollars." Edward whispered in my ears and I laughed out loud.

"Awww… so cute!" my mother said.

"You two look so perfect together." said Esme.

"A toast," Carlisle Cullen said and all raised their glasses. "Edward has found his love in this beautiful lady and I welcome her on behalf of all the Cullen family.  
Welcome to the Cullen family, Bella." I smiled widely at him.

Everyone was happy, except Emmett. Poor him! His face was too good to not to laugh at.

But, at the same time, I also remembered what he had said. _'The game has just begun.'_

What did he mean by that? What exactly was he planning? Right now, I had an edge over him. He didn't want me to be a part of his family, and I had just beaten him there. So I should just enjoy myself, instead of worrying, I thought.

In fact, I wasn't left with any time for worrying as everyone began congratulating Edward and me.

"I don't understand this." Edward said as we were alone for some moments. "Why do these people pretend like they're so happy for us. They don't even know us. This party is such a waste of time."

"Well, true that." I chuckled, "Half of them don't even know us, but they're behaving like they're world's happiest people now that we're engaged."

"Bella…" suddenly my aunt Irina Hale came and took me into a warm embrace, "Heartiest congratulations."

"Thanks." I smiled.

"And…" she paused, as she looked at Edward, "Do you remember me?" she smiled widely at him.

"Of course." he grinned. For the first time, I had seen Edward smiling so widely and naturally.

"My favorite student ever." She said as she hugged him.

"Do you know, Bella? I was his second grade teacher." She said. "Anyway, I won't take your much time. A lot of people are in a queue to wish you. We can talk later." She said and left.

"Oh, she was your teacher?" I smiled at him as I saw him beaming. "Wait a minute! Is she the one, you had a crush on?"

"Well… Yes…" he chuckled as he shrugged his shoulder.

"God, the world is too small." I smiled, "But hey, I should be worried. She's divorced now, so I hope you're not going to start an affair with her." I winked.

"She's single?" he laughed, "May be I should just call off this engagement and propose her."

"No, it will break my heart." I said dramatically and he laughed out loud.

* * *

"You can take this room." he said.

"Cool with me." I shrugged my shoulder.

We had come to his new house after the engagement party. I needed to move in with him, right? But of course, we're not going to stay in the same room as we felt there was no need for it at all.

"You have this video-game?" I shrieked with an excitement, as I noticed the video-game.

"Yeah. When I feel nostalgic, I play them." He replied.

"Aahh… Super Mario, Road fighter, Contra… Aah! Memories!" I smiled, "Hey, we should play it some time. I will beat you."

"What?" he smiled, "You mean, you will beat me in these games?"

"Yes." I smiled back.

"In your dreams." He said smugly.

"No, I will beat you in reality." I said confidently.

"We will see that." he smiled. "Anyway, I'm really tired today. The engagement party was too tiring, I guess. I will go to sleep. Good night."

"Good night." I smiled.

Then I was alone in the room and suddenly it felt like someone put a stone on my heart.

What was I doing?

This wasn't the life I wanted.

I wanted to spend my life with someone who loves me.

My life wasn't about some fucking stupid revenge.

It _wasn't_, until a few days ago.

Now it is all about the revenge.

I shouldn't lose focus now.

I won't let Emmett Cullen win.

* * *

"There wasn't really any need to make a coffee for me." Edward said in a groggy voice next morning.

"Come on… I was making it for me anyway." I shrugged my shoulder as I handed him the cup. "And by the way, people say that I make a pretty good coffee." I smiled.

"Is it? I highly doubt if anyone can make one better than me."

"Aah! Arrogance, thy name is Edward Cullen." I chuckled. "Then you have to taste it. I hope it'd meet your standards." I crossed my fingers to tease him.

"Let me try." he took the cup in his hand.

"Ummm… I think, I make much better than this." He said in an emotionless voice.

"Are you serious or you're joking?" I asked as I couldn't guess.

"Why would I joke?" he asked looking straight in my eyes.

Huh! This person was definitely something else. I mean even if he didn't like it, he could have given some fake compliments to me.

"Then may be you should teach me how to make a good coffee." I joked.

"I'm not saying that this is a bad one, but yeah, it can be improved. Okay." he shrugged his shoulder, "I'll teach you."

I stared at him in disbelief.

I really couldn't understand this person. His actions were completely unpredictable for me. At one moment, he would smile, and at the very next moment,  
he would be dead serious. He seemed like one happy, mischievous kid in his childhood from whatever Esme had told me. Then, what had changed him? There should be some reason behind his transformation, right? Or may be, there wasn't anything. May be, it was just me, trying to look out for the reasons which didn't exist.

No, there should be some epic story behind his heartbreak. Or why would he agree for this marriage of convenience?

I didn't have the answer for my question, but about one thing I was sure- I was completely intrigued by Edward Cullen.

* * *

Till now, I used to think that my mother was the worst, but my to-be mother-in-law seemed like she's going to top her soon. My mother always loved to organize family get together and parties, which used to annoy the shit out of me. And here it is Esme, who had already planned yet another family dinner plan. Thankfully it would be a smaller affair this time as Emmett was out for some reason, and Jane had planned a night out at her best friend for some school project. So this time, there were only Esme, Carlisle, Edward and I.

I noticed the time in my watch and sighed. Hopefully, I wasn't going to be late.

"Fuck!" I muttered as I noticed someone had parked a car behind my car.

I began pressing the horn of my car but it felt like it was addressing the deaf people. God, I really hated the people who love to make out in the car. Couldn't they find any other place in world? Morons!

Alright! I was done. I got out of the car and rushed to the car behind.

"Can you please…?" I said as I knocked on the window of the car. They stopped eating each other's faces as they finally heard me.

But well, I couldn't have guessed who could be in that car. "Jane." I said. So, this was how she was doing her school project!

Then I looked at the guy, and well, this was a serious matter. I knew that guy. I had come across him once in one of the pubs. What was Jane doing with him? There's no way she should be with a drug addict!

"Bella…" she got out of the car and rushed to me, "Look…" she said frantically, "Bella… I was…" Then she turned towards that guy and addressed him, "Riley, just… go…" she told that guy. He followed her instruction immediately.

"What were you doing with that guy? I thought you were studying at your friend's place." I folded my arms across my chest. I wasn't sure whether it was my right to question her, but he was a fucking drug addict. What the hell was she doing with him?

"Bella… Look, don't tell anybody please… " she pleaded.

This was an unprecedented situation for me. As an only child of my parent, I had never come across such a situation where I had to deal with my sibling's lies!

"That guy is not good for you. You should know that." I said.

"I know you won't believe me, but I don't lie to my family everyday. It's just… Please believe me… And please don't tell anyone about this… Please… Or they won't trust me again." she pleaded.

I didn't know what to do. I mean, what were my rights to stop her from lying to her family? I would be a hypocrite if I would call her a liar.

"So if I'm guessing it correctly, you're not going to your best friend's place tonight, right? Come with me. We're going home." I ordered like a strict elder sister.

"Okay." she said, "But please don't tell anyone about anything. I'll tell them that Vicky had to go somewhere, so we had to cancel our school project plan. Please…"

"Sit in the car." I ordered.

* * *

"Ummm… I want to tell you something." I told Edward later that night when we reached at _our_ place.

"What?" he asked. He seemed really tired tonight. I wasn't sure whether I should tell him about this at the moment or not.

_Just tell him already_, I thought.

"Actually, I saw Jane with someone today. Ummm… I don't know I should tell you or not… "

"What do you want to say about Jane?" he seemed surprised.

"Actually, I think she lied to your parents that she had planned a night out at her best friend's place. I saw her making out with a guy in the mall's parking area. That dude is a drug addict. I know him. Jane is…"

"So, you want to imply that my sister is a liar? You want to imply that she keeps bad companies with her? And what? That she's a drug addict? How do you  
even know that that guy is a drug addict? Through a common dealer?" he asked breathlessly.

I stared at him in disbelief.


	7. Chapter 7

**BPOV**

"So, you want to imply that my sister is a liar? You want to imply that she keeps bad companies with her? And what? That she's a drug addict? How do you  
even know that that guy is a drug addict? Through a common dealer?" he asked breathlessly.

I stared at him in disbelief. What the hell did he think of himself?

_Bastard!_

"Yeah… I had met that dude through a common dealer." I smiled sarcastically, "In fact, I am planning to introduce that dealer to Jane tomorrow."

"Look you…" he pointed his index finger at me.

"Don't you dare point a finger at me." I warned him.

I knew I should keep calm or this could seriously spoil my plans, but there's no way I'd allow anyone to insult me. I didn't give a damn about the plan at the moment. In fact, I felt like I had made one big mistake by asking him to marry me. Probably I had misunderstood him. He was just like his brother. _Fucker!_

The whole family seemed like an ass to me.

The person in front me would say anything without thinking.

The sister seemed to love lying and keeping bad companies.

And regarding the other brother, well, I wouldn't even go there!

"So, now you're warning me in my own house? Are you kidding me?" he gritted his teeth.

"Look, may be I've made a mistake by trying to help you." I snapped.

"Help? Yeah right." He laughed.

_You're an idiot. Do you know that?_ I wanted to shout at him. When there's an actual laugh-worthy topic, he would behave like a robot. And look at him now! When there's a dead serious topic, he's laughing!

"Alright… Then you can forget what I've said. Just keep believing that your sister is an angel. I don't give a damn." I snapped and turned away from him to go to _my_ room.

"Hey wait!" he grabbed my hand, "Don't show me the attitude."

How dare he fucking grabbed my hand?

"Just leave my hand." I warned him.

"I'm not interested in touching you either." he said as he released my hand. "Look." he took a deep breath, "Let me tell you something. If you want to continue with this agreement, you have to keep my family out of it."

"Definitely." I shrugged my shoulder, "In fact, I'm never going to tell you anything now onwards. I just… don't give a damn." I said, and I meant it. I didn't care if his sister goes to hell.

We stayed there for few seconds without saying anything before he made his towards his room and slammed the door forcefully.

I shook my head. I was getting sure that I had made one of the biggest mistakes of my life!

* * *

Next morning, I was shocked to see him standing there in the kitchen with two cups in his hands.

"Good Morning…" he smiled.

_Do you have split personality or something?_ I wanted to ask.

"Look, I'm sorry for last night." He smiled as handed over me the cup.

_Just stop smiling._ I wanted to snap.

"Look, I'm very… protective when it comes to my family. " he said, "I can't hear a word against them. And what you told me yesterday was enough for me to, well… lose my temper."

"But I wasn't lying." I said.

"Well…" he paused, "I hope I don't offend you, but I honestly can't find a reason to trust you. I mean, since how long have I known you? Just a little over a month, I guess. Plus, they way you've come up with this wedding plan… Believe me. It's so hard to trust you." He winked. "You're one wicked woman."

Alright. Even though I love straightforward people, this was too much.

"But you should know that I've got no reason to lie regarding Jane." I said. "I honestly care for her, whether you believe it or not. Anyway, we should just let it go. I'll never try to interfere with your family matter." I said, hoping to put the full stop on this subject.

"On the contrary," he paused, "I'd like to know what exactly you know about that dude."

I groaned. So _now_ he wants to know the truth?

"Why do you want to know from me? I mean, you just said that you don't trust me." I said.

"I said I am sorry." he said.

"You said you trust your sister more."

"Even though I've blind trust on Jane, I'd still like to get a confirmation that she's not heading towards any wrong way."

"Alright then. Here you go." I said, "As you know, I had met that guy through a common dealer." I joked.

He snorted. "I'm serious."

"You seemed quite serious last night also." I smirked.

"I said I'm sorry." He said with an irritation.

"No, I want to know. How did you come with that logic?" I asked.I was still mad.

"I said I am sorry…"

"Alright." I shrugged my shoulder, "I'll let you go this time. But if you utter any such nonsense next time…"

"I said I am sorry." he sighed, "Now can you please tell me what you know about that guy?"

"He's a drug addict. He tried to trap my close friend's sister by telling her how much he loved her and all that bullshit. That's how I know about him. She was lucky that her family had come to know about this pretty early and they had forced her to cut down all the contacts with him. And…" I paused, "I know you won't trust me, but believe me. I really care for Jane. She seems to be his next target."

"Hmmm…." He said, as it seemed like he was lost in thoughts.

I deeply hoped he'd do something to save Jane from that bastard.


	8. Chapter 8

**EPOV**

Women are never trustworthy. Period.

Then why was I thinking that there could be a slightest truth in what Bella Swan had told me. Of course, Jane would never keep bad companies and would  
never lie to her family. No, she would never do that. I was re-assuring myself.

Even though I had apologized Bella about my last night's behavior, I still wasn't sure if I should doubt Jane.

But it didn't look like Bella was lying. And why would she? What could she gain by putting such a blame on Jane?

_Bella Swan._

Why should I trust that woman? She was deceiving her family by agreeing to marry me. Well, I knew that I was doing the same, but that wasn't the point at this moment. The point was, if she could lie to her family, whom she had known for all her life, why wouldn't she lie to me?

But what would she gain by lying to me? I was back to my first question again.

Anyway, the protective brother in me wasn't going to sit with a peace. I needed to find out if there was something wrong with Jane.

* * *

"Welcome home. How was your day?" smiled Bella as I returned from the office in the evening.

"As usual." I shrugged my shoulder, "Just happy that it's weekend time again. How was …" I was going to ask her about how was her day when I noticed the disaster that was the drawing room of my house.

"What the hell?" I snapped. My head started spinning. God, my house was never so untidy. There was a bowl of popcorn on the sofa. Newspapers and magazines were shattered over the table and the sofa. Plus, there were a empty cup of coffee and an empty bowl of popcorn.

"What's wrong?" asked Bella.

"_What's wrong?_ Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked incredulously as I grabbed the empty cup and bowl and rushed towards the kitchen.

"I don't understand anything… What's wrong?" she followed me.

_Calm down, Edward. Just calm down._ I told myself as I began washing the cup.

"Why are you doing that? I can do it by myself." she was still talking.

_Calm down._

I washed the utensils and made my way to the drawing room again. She followed me, of course!

I grabbed the newspapers and magazines, and put them at the proper place.

Finally, I looked around and thank God, finally it felt like a home again! Wait, there was this bowl of popcorn. I grabbed it and put it in Bella's hand.

"Jesus Christ, can you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you?" She almost shouted.

"Look, if you want to stay in this house, you have to keep it neat and clean." I decided to tell her directly.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked incredulously.

"Really? You can't understand anything? What had you done to my house? Newspapers were here and there, empty cup, bowl… Jesus Christ! What was that?" I tried to control my anger, but failed miserably.

She stared at me and began laughing. She's _laughing?_ Are you fucking kidding me?

"You're an abnormal person, Mr Cullen. You should know that." She said.

This woman was so annoying. God, why had I even agreed to marry her in the first place. Instead of accepting her mistake she was laughing at me. _Great!_

"Don't you get tired by fooling around twenty-four by seven?" I snapped.

"Well, I'd want to ask you one question, too. Don't you get tired by staying serious twenty-four by seven?"

"I don't want to waste my time by arguing with you. Just make sure that my house is never untidy again."

"Yes sir." She saluted me and chuckled.

God, this woman was so annoying!

* * *

God, why was I doing this? On next day, we were on our way to the Forks, a small town near Seattle. Bella's grandmother stays there. She couldn't attend our engagement as she was on a trip to Europe that time. And now she had insisted that Bella and I should visit her during the weekend.

"Can you please stop shaking your legs?" I asked her while we were in the car. It was irritating me.

"Now you have a problem also with this?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes." I replied tersely.

"What will happen if I don't stop shaking my legs?" she raised her eyebrow.

"It irritates me." I replied.

"So, you were always this serious or…?" she asked.

"Why are you so obsessed with my seriousness?" I asked with annoyance. "Just that I don't find everything funny like you, doesn't imply that I don't have a sense of humor."

"Sure." She said and rolled her eyes.

"Don't show me the sarcasm." I said.

"Don't you get tired of being so boring?" she asked.

"_Excuse me?_ " I asked, "I'm not boring."

"Do you seriously think that?" she asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"Then let me tell you something, Mr Cullen. You're living in a delusion." she chuckled.

"Stop shaking your legs, for God's sake." I said.

"Alright. Alright." she chuckled.

"Look, don't get annoyed much at my gran." She said as we reached at her grandmother's place after some time, "She gets little over-excited sometimes, but she's a sweetheart." She smiled. "Be nice to her."

I tried to suppress my anger. What did this woman think of me? Did she think I'm a robot? I know how to talk to an elderly woman, alright?

"Don't worry about that." I wanted to say so may things, but decided to go with a short answer.

"Bella, awwww… my little girl is engaged now. I still can't believe it." her grandmother, Mrs Susan Swan said as she took Bella in a warm embrace.

"Awww gran… It's so nice to see you after such a long period." Bella smiled widely. It seemed like they were very closed to each other.

"And you're Edward…" she turned towards me with a big smile on her face, "You're so handsome, my boy." She hugged me.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Swan." I smiled.

"Oh don't call me Mrs Swan. It's too formal. Call me Susan or Susie, or you can call me sexy." She said and Bella chuckled.

_Sexy?_

"Don't look so surprised, son." She chuckled. "Even though I'm seventy-six, I feel like I'm sixteen only. And don't you think I'm sexy?"

I laughed out loud. "Yes, you're. I'll definitely call you 'sexy'. "

"That's my boy." She beamed at me.

I enjoyed the next few hours at that place. I liked that woman. She was so full of life, and I also liked her relationship with Bella.

"You know what, children?" Susan addressed us. "At my age, just by having a glance at the couple, I can say that they're meant for each other or not. And I'm so glad to say that I can definitely tell that you both are meant to be together, for eternity." She smiled.

Unconsciously, I looked at Isabella, and we both burst into a laughter.

That's when I heard someone's shouting.

"Bella? Bella? Where the hell are you, my girl?"

"Jacob? He's here?" Bella shrieked with an excitement. "Oh my God!"

"Hello Bella Swan." he said as he entered the room.

"Oh my God!" Bella said as she jumped into his arms.

Now who the hell is this Jacob?


	9. Chapter 9

**EPOV**

"Hello Edward." Jacob said as I shook his hand. "I'm Jacob Black. Bella and I used to be pretty good friends when we were kids."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled.

"How come you're here?" Bella asked him. "I thought you were in London."

"I'm on my vacation." he replied. "You've no idea how happy I'm to see you."

"How did you know I was here?" Bella asked.

"Your Gran sent me a message on Whatsapp. She's so cool, man! She knows well how to use all these modern apps." he said.

That made me smile. Indeed, Susan was very cool. She was the coolest grandmother I've ever meet!

"You know what, Edward?" Bella chuckled, "When we were kids, we used to think that we're going to marry each other."

_"You're going to be my wife. You do know that, right?" I smiled at Tanya._

_"Yes." Ten year old Tanya beamed at her classmate and best friend. "We're going to marry when we grow up."_

_"I can't wait to grow up." I grinned._

_"Me,too." she said._

_"I like you so much." I said._

_"I like you so much, too." she replied._

_"I like you more."_

_"No, I like you more."_

"Do you remember we used to say 'I like you more'. 'I like you more.' games. _ Idiots!_ " Bella's voice brought me back to the present.

"Yeah." Jacob laughed. "It used to be so fun."

Suddenly I found myself being jealous of Bella.

Unlike me, she still had her best friend with her.

"Sometime I wish I can go back to that time." she commented.

Yes, I wish that too.

I wish I can go back to the time when my life used to be so simple.

I wish I can go back to the time when 'Life is cruel' used to be just a quote to me.

Suddenly I felt like my head was spinning.

"Can we leave now?" I asked Bella.

"Umm... Can we stay for some time?" she asked.

"No, sorry. I'm a bit tired." I replied.

"C'mon man... You can wait for some time." Jacob said.

"I'm really tired." I said in an emotionless tone.

"It's okay." she said. "We can leave now. Jacob, we should catch up some other time."

"Yeah, I'm planning to visit Seattle next week."

"Awesome." Bella smiled.

* * *

_I should have stayed, _I thought while we're in the car.

She must be cursing me right now.

She wanted to spend some time with her friend and grandmother. Couldn't I have stayed there a little longer?

Should I apologize to her?

No, may be there was no need for it.

For the past few years, I've been behaving like this with everyone. Earlier people used to be worried. They used to ask questions. They wanted to know about the reasons for my mood swings.

But eventually the gave up. Nobody gives a damn about it anymore.

"Your mood swings give me whiplash." Bella said.

Well, _except Bella!_

But I was sure, she, too, would also stop asking questions like this.

"I don't understand how can anyone be this moody?" It seemed she was _really_ mad at me. "I mean, you were so happy when you were having a conversation with Gran, and few minutes later, _'I'm so tired. I want to go home.'" _she mimicked me.

I had no idea why, but it made me smile.

Probably after _ages_, my behavior was affecting someone.

After ages it felt like I wasn't alone in the world; and I liked that feeling.

* * *

"I feel like we should get married soon," I told Isabella once we reached home.

"Hmmm?" she asked.

"What's the need to waste the time? We've already signed the agreement, and we're supposed to stay together one year after the marriage, right? So I don't think I should endure you for more than a year." I said. I knew last sentence would provoke a reaction from her, and I had no idea why, but I have started to enjoy teasing her.

"You know what? I've always thought that straightforwardness is a very good quality, but after meeting you, I'm re-thinking about that. You're so annoying." She shook her head.

"Sorry." I smiled. "But think about it. You also wouldn't want to endure me for more than the mentioned period, right?"

"Right." She nodded.

"Good." I smiled, "Now we've to decide another thing. Should we elope to Las Vegas?"

"What? Why?" she sounded confused.

"Look, I don't want to get married in some big, fat ceremony."

"Oh! I,too, don't want that. But we can't escape that. I know our families too well. I highly doubt they would want to miss this opportunity. So, the conclusion is, even if we get married in Vegas, there's a high probability that they would make us married again." She laughed.

"Well, that's true." I agreed with her. "So, what we should we do?"

"We should tell our parents that we want to get married soon. Then…" she chuckled, "We won't have to do anything. We just need to take the back seat.  
They'll do every preparation to make this wedding as big as possible."

"Damn!" I shuddered at that thought, but she was completely right. "Yeah, may be that's what we should do."


	10. Chapter 10

**EPOV**

The month after we announced the news to our family passed in a blink. Bella was correct. We didn't have to do anything.

I guess, Bella and I had become friends during these days due to our common interest- _Getting annoyed at our mothers! _They both were so annoying. They wanted to make this wedding as big as possible.

Even if we agreed upon our mutual interest of not wanting a big wedding, we still had a few heated arguments over the matter of Jane. I had tried to do my kind of investigation and had never found anything to doubt Jane. Bella was still stubborn to accept that. Finally, I had told her not to interfere with my family's personal matters and thankfully, she agreed.

I was getting nervous as the 'Big Day' was approaching me. Only fifteen hours, and then I'd be a married man!

_"I wanna tell you something funny." I wasn't sure if I should eavesdrop Tanya's conversation with her sister._

_"What's that? " Irina, her sister asked._

_"I had a funny conversation with Edward today." Tanya said._

_Which funny conversation? I didn't seem to remember._

_"Edward asked if I'd still want to marry him if he didn't have any of his money..." she laughed._

_"What did you tell?" Irina chuckled._

_"I said, 'What are you talking about, honey?'" she started in a dramatic tone. "'I love you, not your money. Why are you asking such a stupid question?'"_

_"You should had told him the truth, sis." Irina laughed._

_"You mean, I should had told him that I would have never dated him if he didn't have this 'Cullen' tag? That he was a pathetic idiot without his money?" Tanya laughed._

_It would be an understatement if I say I was shocked!_

_"You should had told him. It would have been fun." _

_"He would have started crying. 'Oh Tanya! What are you saying? I love you so much. I can't live without you.'" she said. "Pussy!" _

I took a deep breath.

It was not the time to think about the past.

It was time to start looking towards the new chapter of my life.

* * *

Finally we were here.

The big day had arrived.

And the moment was here.

"You may now kiss the bride." The priest announced.

I winked at Bella and leaned forward to kiss her.

Huh! So I was a married man now! Few months ago, I wouldn't have imagined myself getting married, but here was I was!

"Now that Edward is married, you're the next one, Emmett," my mother teased Emmett once the reception was over.

"Sure!" he said.

"But can you imagine how difficult it would be to find only one bride from his hundred girlfriends?" I joked.

"May be, I should give the responsibility of finding a suitable bride for me to… my dear sis-in-law." He chuckled. "Right Bella?"

"Sure, Emmett." She gave a terse reply without smiling.

I couldn't understand what her problem was with my siblings. She always tries to find faults in Jane, and with Emmett… well, it seemed as if she would start a fight with him any time.

Anyway, it's just a matter of a year.

* * *

"Thank God. The bullshit is over." I sighed as we returned back to _our_ home.

We were supposed to go on a honeymoon, but I postponed it stating the work reasons. Mom and Dad were furious, but Bella came to the rescue. She said we could go on a honeymoon a month later.

"Jesus Christ!" I sighed as I entered in my room.

"What happened?" Bella asked. "Ohh!" she chuckled weakly.

My room was not my room. Period. The candles, the champagne bottle was all I could find in the room. Fuck! My family suck! Who told them to spoil my room?

"I can't stay here. My head is spinning." I told Bella. "And I'm too tired to clean this right now."

"Umm... You can sleep in my room for tonight." she said.

"Okay." I replied. "What the hell they have done to my room?" I muttered once again.

"Okay, you just relax." she chuckled.

I shook my head and made my way towards _her_ room. I went to the bathroom and spilled some water over my face.

I sighed as I looked at my wedding band.

It was still weird to think I was married now.

Suddenly noticed something.

_What. The. Fuck?_

I grabbed it to check it.

_What. The. Fuck?_

I rushed out of bathroom and grabbed Bella's arm from behind.

"What the hell is this?" I barked. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed the thing in my hand.

_"You're pregnant?"_ I snapped.


	11. Chapter 11

**BPOV**

I sighed as I looked at my wedding ring. It was so weird to think I was a married woman now. Before I could think further, Edward grabbed my arm from behind.

"What the hell is this?" he barked. My eyes grew wide as I noticed the thing in his hand.

_What the fuck?_ How did he find it? Was one test left in the bathroom?

_"You're pregnant?"_ he snapped.

I dropped my jaw.

I was… _what?_

So he was thinking that… ?

"Jesus Christ, so that's why you wanted to get married? Why haven't I thought about this before? How could I be such an idiot? I…" he was speaking breathlessly.

"Look…" I tried to calm him down. God, how to explain him about this? I felt like I was losing the ability to think anything.

"Whose fucking child is this?" he was still going on.

I wasn't going to shut up now. He had crossed his limits.

"Just shut up." I warned him.

"Why should I? You bitch…"

"I said shut up." I screamed. "Don't you dare utter any nonsense without knowing the truth."

"What truth?" he wouldn't stop, "I was so stupid and idiot. This is my worst decision ever… Since when I have become so naïve?"

"Look, I' m warning you… Just shut up or…"

"Or what? What are you going to do?"

"Don't act like an asshole. Just try to listen to me first. Wait! Let me ask you something. Do you have the strength to hear the truth?"

"What truth?" he asked incredulously. "The truth is crystal clear."

"Before putting meaningless blames on me, you would want to know about your sister first." I decided to tell him.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he greeted his teeth.

"This test is not mine." I paused and took a deep breath. "Jane is pregnant."

_"Seattle is going to remember this wedding for long, right Renee?" Esme beamed._

_Gosh! My mother-in-law and my mother were so annoying._

_"C'mon sweetheart, show some excitement. You're getting married in less than__ two days." my mother smiled at me._

_"She's same as Edward in this matter." Esme chuckled, "Oh dear, you and Edward make one__ perfect pair."_

_"I think I'm bit better than Edward." I chuckled. That was truth. I had never seen__ an emotionless person like Edward in my life._

_"You have to change him after the wedding," she joked, "I'm counting on you. Oh__ dear!" she paused suddenly, "Where's my bracelet? Oh I guess I left it in your car. I had_ _put it on the dashboard, remember? " she addressed me._

_"Yeah, just wait. I'll bring that." I smiled._

_"Thanks honey." She smiled back._

_I opened the door and was about to get out when I bumped into Jane, which in__ turn, made the bag drop down on the floor from her hand._

_"Oh! I'm sorry…" I said, as I bent down to collect the stuffs. My eyes grew wide_ _as I noticed few packets of the pregnancy tests._

_What the fuck?_

_"What the…" I said as I looked at Jane in disbelief._

_She had horror expressions written all over her face._

_"What's this? Why do you have them with you?" I asked firmly._

_She didn't reply anything, as I noticed few tears in her eyes. "Please…" she__ whispered._

_"Come with me." I grabbed her hand and lead her to my car, "Can you tell me__ what's going on?"_

_"I… I don't know." she started sobbing._

_Oh God! I knew something was wrong with this girl. Hence I had tried to warn__ Edward many times, but he wouldn't listen._

_"Please… Don't tell anyone… I'm not… even sure…" she said between her sobs._

_I was genuinely worried for her. "Just sit in the car." I instructed her, "I'll just give __this bracelet to Esme and am coming back. " I put my hand on her shoulder, "Don't_ _worry. Everything is going to be okay."_

_It took few minutes to convince Esme and Renee that I urgently needed to go__ somewhere. I returned back to my car and made my way towards Edward's home. I_ _deeply hoped that Jane wouldn't be pregnant. Jesus, that could spoil her entire life._ _She was just eighteen for God's sake!_

_"You can use this bathroom." I told her once we reached at Edward's house._

_"I'm… scared…" she sobbed again._

_"Everything is going to be okay." I tried to calm her down, but I seriously didn't __know what would happen, if she indeed was pregnant?_

_She went into the bathroom and I began pacing around the room. What if… she __was pregnant? I didn't know. But I deeply hoped she wasn't. She was a really sweet_ _girl. I didn't have any sibling, but I had begun to like her as my little sister. The only_ _problem with her was, she was too naïve. She didn't know which person can spoil_ _her life. Well, I couldn't blame her. _

_ I was deceived completely by Emmett Cullen; I_ _had no right to judge her!_

_Few minutes later, she opened the door and cried harder than before._

_I didn't have to ask her about the result._

"Jane is pregnant."

Edward dropped his jaw. It looked like the world had fallen upon to him. He seemed speechless. He opened his mouth for few times, probably trying to yell at me or something, but couldn't utter a word. I wanted to feel bad for him, but couldn't; not even a bit.

He had no right to act like an asshole.

He had no right to call me a bitch.

Of course, I felt bad for Jane, but not an ounce for her brother.

"This can't be true." he said.

"Yeah it's not true. I am a damn good story maker, you know? Hence I came up with this."

"Yes, you are." He looked straight in my eyes. "I haven't forgotten how you had come up with an idea of our wedding!"

"Alright, I agreed." I snapped, "I agreed that I have made this stupid story for… our wedding once. And I think it's the biggest mistake of my life."

"Same here." he snapped back.

"Edward, I'm not lying for God's sake."

"It... It can't be true." he said even though he sounded unsure now.

"Well, if you think I'm lying, why don't you just go to your parents' house and ask your sister… And don't forget to buy a new pregnancy test on your way. It won't leave a place for any doubt, you know? " I said, but immediately regretted it. I think I had crossed the limit.

"Shut up." He yelled and rushed out of the room.

Yup.

My doubt was correct. This wedding is the biggest mistake of my life!

* * *

I looked in the watch for one more time.

It was showing 2 A.M. and Edward hadn't returned yet. Where the hell was he? Should I call him? I asked myself as I kept pacing around the room. I was damn sure nobody in the world would have spent their wedding night like this!

Where could he have gone?

I was getting worried now.

God, I sighed. I shouldn't have broken this news to Edward like that. He is such a short tampered person. Only God knows what is he doing at the moment?

Exactly that's when I heard the sound of the opening of the main door of our house. Even though I didn't want to, I couldn't help going to the drawing room.

I glanced at Edward and he looked… _different_. I had never seen him like this.

Even though I was mad at him, I had to confess it wasn't fun to see him so broken.

"Why are you awake?" he asked me in a complete emotionless voice.

"I…" I didn't know what to say as an answer. While it was true that I was worried for him, I didn't want to confess it.

He waited for few moments for my reply, then he moved to his room and closed the door behind him.

I wondered where he was till now.


	12. Chapter 12

**BPOV**

When I woke up next day, I didn't find Edward at home. I didn't know where had he gone in such an early morning.

Before I could think further, I noticed a bouquet on the table. I noticed a card attached with it and it was from… Edward.

_What?_

I anxiously began reading it.

_"Hey,_

_I am really bad at this, but I'll give it a try._

_I should have listened to you. My bad!_

_I am sorry; I really am._

_I hope I don't offend you, but I've one request. Please don't ask me anything regarding this matter. While I appreciate your concern for my sister, I really don't like someone interfering in my family's personal matters._

_Once again, I'm sorry._

_-Edward"_

I shook my head in disbelief.

Probably I would never understand Edward Cullen.

Curiosity is human nature.

I had heard that before, but today I understood what they meant by it. Where was Edward? What could have happened after he left this house yesterday? I wanted to know. Even if it was none of my business, I wanted the answers.

My husband was one weird creature.

_My husband._

What was I thinking when I let myself into this marriage?

Anyway, it was too late now. I didn't use my mind when I was supposed to. What's done can't be undone.

I sighed and realized that this was only the next of my wedding. I had to shake my head at the absurdity of this situation. I was ready to bet _anything_ that we had the worst wedding night ever.

What the hell was I supposed to do now? Not that Edward would be a great company, but the emptiness of this place was killing me.

Where the heck was he? My mind started asking questions again. Was he at his parents' place? Would he have told them everything? And what about Jane? I was really worried for her, but she should have used her mind before falling for that fucker.

Haah! I smiled sarcastically. She was just a teenager. She's allowed to make the mistake. But what about you, Ms Swan or rather Mrs Cullen? I asked myself. You weren't a teenager and still, you fell for that fucker. Plus, your other decisions aren't something you should be proud of.

Yeah, I sighed. I had no right to judge Jane when I was also an epitome of a brainless human being!

Before I could ask further questions to myself, I heard the door getting open. I moved to the drawing room, and Edward was here. He was in track pants and was a little bit sweaty. It looked like he was coming back from jogging.

"Hey!" I said.

"Good Morning." he said.

And that's it. We were silent again. I had so many questions for him though. Like, how was Jane? What happened yesterday? Where were you till 2 AM last night? But then I remembered his letter in which he had asked me to mind my own business. So I thought it would be better if I keep my mouth shut.

"I am hungry." he said after few minutes, "I brought the breakfast for us." It was only until then I noticed a bag in his hand.

_I don't understand this person!_ I wanted to scream, but still I have followed him to the kitchen.

What did happen yesterday?

Did you meet Jane today?

You didn't talk harshly to her,did you?

What are you going to do now?

I wanted to ask him these questions while we were having the breakfast, but asked nothing.

"I know you have many questions." he said and I choked on my coffee. It felt like I was caught off guard.

"But... I don't like sharing my thoughts with anyone." he smiled and repeated, "With anyone."

"Why?" I asked, "I am not telling you to share your thoughts with me, but one should always share one's thoughts with someone. It feels good." I smiled.

"I don't know... I don't like it." he said, "Every time I share my thoughts with somebody, I feel like... _'God, I shouldn't have done that.'"_

I shook my head. This person was something else. "May be you should try that again. May be this time you will feel better."

"May be." he said as he kept playing with his plate.

Again, we remain silent till he threw his plate on the ground suddenly. I was taken aback by his sudden action. I stared at him in horror.

"Edward, are you okay...?"

"Sorry!" he said without looking at me as he roamed his hand in his hair.

"You can talk to me, if you... want." I said. "I know you don't. But believe me, you can trust me." I said even though I knew that he wasn't going to tell me anything.

"Jane... She isn't fucking ready for the abortion." he said.

"Oh!" I said.

"She says she wants to marry that fucker..." he grabbed his cup and shattered it on the ground, too.

"You need to calm down." I said.

"And my mother..." he shook his head, "Instead of having words with her, she was giving me lecture about I shouldn't have left you alone on the day after our wedding."

_Well may be because in her eyes we were a normal couple?_ I wanted to say.

"Why can't her thick brain understand that the abortion is the only option she's left with." he snapped.

"Edward, I know it's very shocking and difficult situation for you, but you need to handle it calmly."

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have all these stuffs to you." he said as if he realized his mistake, "It's none of your business."

"I know it's not my business." I said, "But you can share it with me. It does feel good, right?"

"No." he said, "I still feel like I shouldn't have shared all these you. I feel miserable."

"You know what?" I said, trying to suppress my anger, "You can just go to hell."

_"Excuse me?"_ he asked incredulously. I had to shake my head. He was staring at me as if I was the one being an asshole.

"I was just being nice to you. Seems like it was a mistake."

"No need to be nice to me." he said in an emotionless tone, "I told you to stay away from my matters. It's not like you're my wife for real."

"Alright." I rose up from my chair, "It was my fucking mistake that I was worried for you. But you know what? It was a big, fucking mistake." I snapped as I grabbed my plate and cup, "I am having my breakfast in my room. Bye." I said and left the place without looking at his reaction.

I was fuming with anger. Why the hell did he have to keep me telling _'It's none of your business.'_ Hell, I knew that it was none of my business, but I was genuinely worried for them; it's not like I was bugging him just for the sake of gossiping.

"God!" I sighed, "This person is driving me nuts!"


	13. Chapter 13

**BPOV**

Damn! It didn't feel like I was a married woman now. My life was still the same. The only difference being- I had one annoying husband now.

I wondered what he would be doing right now. For sure, he would be cleaning his room! He had got a heart-attack looking at the romantic setup in his room last night. I couldn't find enough words to describe how boring and irritating he was!

What will he do after that? Will he go to his parents' house again? What are they going to do now regarding Jane's matter? How is Edward going to react?

God! Why the hell was I thinking about all this? He can to hell and I shouldn't give a damn about it!

_You need to take a shower._ I told myself.

* * *

_It felt so good. _I thought as I completed my shower. I kept cursing Edward while taking the shower and now I felt... _relaxed_.

I put on my bathrobe and was about to get out of the bathroom when I slipped accidentally.

"Oh my..." I almost screamed with pain.

_What the hell? Where was my fucking concentration?_

I tried to get up, but couldn't. The pain was too severe.

"Gosh! My leg..." I almost cried with pain.

What the hell was this now? I had already enough problems in my life.

"Bella?" I heard a knock on the door, "Is everything okay? I think I just heard your scream." he said.

I hate this person.

I hate everything.

The pain was making me mad!

"You just get lost, you fucking annoying moron..." I said as I cried once more with this fucking pain. "Look, I feel this pain is more than enough for driving me crazy. I've no intention of enduring you right now." I didn't give a damn if I was insulting him. He had insulted me more than enough times!

"Did you fall or something?" he asked, "Just open the door."

"I can't." I replied.

"What?" he asked.

"I can't fucking move." I snapped.

"Come on..." he said, "Just try to open the door. We can handle it afterwards."

"Just go to hell. I don't need your help."

"Don't act like a child." he said with an anger, "Try to open the door."

_I_ am acting like a child? _Excuse me?_ What was he doing few minutes ago?

_"I still feel like I shouldn't have shared all these you."_

_"It's not like you're my wife for real."_

I felt angry again as I realized his words.

"Just get lost." I shouted.

"My God! You're acting like a kid, Bella. Open the door, for God's sake."

I sighed as I realized he wasn't completely wrong. I couldn't stay in bathroom forever, for fuck's sake.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't take any weight on my left leg.

"I can't." I cried with pain.

"C'mon..." I heard his voice.

"You just shut up." I yelled in frustration.

"C'mon... You can do it."

_I'm going to kill this man if he doesn't shut his mouth. I hate him!_

Finally, after few minutes I gathered the strength and with many difficulties, I managed to open the door at last. But after that I felt like I couldn't even take a single step further.

"Oh thank God!" said Edward who was still waiting outside the bathroom.

"Let me help you." he grabbed my hand, "Come on..."

"I can't." I said.

"Come on... Let me take you to the bed." he said, and he was about to put his hand on my waist, but stopped suddenly.

"What?" I snapped as I caught him staring at me, "Haven't you ever seen any woman in a bathrobe before? Well... By looking at your nature I'd not be surprised if it's indeed the truth."

"You just shut up." he said and took me by surprise as took me in his my arms in a bridal style.

"Ouch." I said with pain as I felt a sudden jerk in my ankle.

"Now shut up." he said as he put me on the bed, "I'm tired of your babbling. Let me see your leg. I will put relief spray for now,alright? Then we can go to the doctor." he said.

"I can do it by myself." I said firmly.

"Can't even take two steps on her own and..." he muttered.

He brought the spray from his room and I began applying on my leg.

Suddenly I noticed that he was... _smiling_!

Now what?

"What's so funny?" I snapped.

"Hmmm?" he played innocent.

"Why were you smiling?" I asked.

"No, I just..." he smiled again. "I remembered a thing Dad once told me. He said, _'A lion is a lion only till he gets married; after that he's just a mouse.'_" he said and laughed out loud.

Well, I still didn't find anything funny it, because I was still mad at him.

"I think it's true." he said. "I remembered that line when you were yelling at me from the bathroom. You know what? I don't remember anyone yelling at me like that. _Ever_. Nobody had balls to do so. But you're different. After all, you're a wife, you know? So basically, I am a mouse now." he laughed again.

"Multiple personality disorder." I muttered.


	14. Chapter 14

**BPOV**

"Freedom!" I exclaimed as the Doctor removed my plaster. It's been a few days since I had slipped in the bathroom. It was just a minor fracture thankfully.

"I feel so good." I told Edward once we were in car. He just smiled in return.

I got to know about many things in these past few days. One, Edward was a surprisingly caring husband. Even though he had asked me not to interfere in his personal matters as I was not his wife _for real,_ he has been behaving as a _real_ husband for past few days. He would make coffee for me in morning everyday. Even though I hate to admit this, he makes better coffee than me! I felt like I was getting addicted to his coffee. He would bring dinner for me while coming back from the office. He would even call me once or twice during the day to ask me how I was doing. He was behaving as if I have been into some major accident! Anyway, I was loving it. He hadn't had any mood swings in these last days; not in front of me at least. I was not sure if anyone else was the victim of it! I didn't know what was going on with Jane. I wanted to ask him, but I feared I might have to face his anger, so I just didn't go there.

That's when I received a message from Rosalie, one of my close friends.

_"Call me whenever you're free. I want to talk to you about your sister-in-law." _

I looked at Edward immediately. Why doesn't he talk to me what's going on there? And what does Rosalie want to discuss?

"Tell me." I said as I dialed Rosalie's number once Edward dropped me at our house and left for the work.

"You might know that my sister Leah is in same class as Jane and they're good friends." she started.

"Yeah." I said.

"Actually Riley, her... 'boyfriend' is giving her false promises and he's asked her to marry him. He's been telling her that once they get married, her family will be left with no option but to accept their relationship. I'm afraid to tell you this, but Jane has blindly agreed with him and decided to elope with him."

_"What?"_ I asked incredulously.

"I know." she said. "I was equally shocked when Leah told me this. I thought may be I should you."

"Thanks Rosalie." I said. "Thanks."

I immediately dialed Edward's number. What the hell were he and his family doing? Shouldn't they keep eyes on Jane? Or may be, today's teenagers are way too smart? Anyway, I shouldn't shut my mouth knowing the truth.

"Hello?" he said as he received the call. "What? You broke your leg again?" he chuckled.

_It's not a time to crack a joke,_ I wanted to say.

"I wanted to discuss something important, Edward." I said.

"What?"

"It's about Jane."

"What is it?" he asked. I had thought he'd tell me to stay away from Jane's matter, so I was surprised when I realized he was actually interested in hearing me out.

I told him whatever Rosalie had told me.

I expected him to blast at me, but he didn't.

"Can you come to my parents' house right now? I'll also reach there." he said.

* * *

"I can't understand whatever you're trying to imply." Jane said. It seems this girl had become expert in lying to her family!

"Don't fool with me, Jane." Edward said.

"Tell the truth, Jane." Esme said. "Don't lie to us. We're your family. We know what's best for you."

"I'm not lying, Mom." Jane still continued with her lying, "Why don't you believe me, Bro? Why are you believing her?" she pointed her finger at me, "Do you trust her more than me?"

"Yeah. I trust her more than I trust you." he said.


	15. Chapter 15

**BPOV**

_"Yeah. I trust her more than I trust you."_

This was just a sentence, but it felt so special. I never thought Edward would trust me. I felt like I was dreaming!

"But I am not lying. Why don't you trust me for God's sake?" Jane started shouting.

"Mom, make sure she doesn't leave this house alone." Edward told Esme. "I don't want her to do anything reckless."

"Are you kidding me?" Jane asked incredulously, "I am not a kid, for God's sake. You can't control my life."

"I don't want any more argument." Edward said.

I felt he needed to calm down a bit.

"You need to calm down, Edward." Esme told Edward.

"_I_ need to calm down?" he rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

"Come with me." Esme ordered him, "I want to talk to you."

"Why don't you talk to your daughter first?" he said.

"Come." Esme said as she moved out of the room.

"What's your problem with me?" Jane asked me once Edward and Esme left the room.

"What?" I asked.

"Why can't you stay away from my matters? What's your problem with me? Earlier also I had begged you not to mention about my pregnancy to anyone, still you told it to Edward. Why?"

"Look Jane, I don't have any problem with you. I'm just... worried for you."

"Oh please! Don't tell this bullshit to me."

"Jane, I..."

"Look, I'm warning you. Stay away from my personal matters. And tell your husband also." she was talking as if she was spitting the venom, "I can do whatever I want. You all can't keep me grounded."

"Do you actually think that dude loves you?" I asked her.

"Yes." she folded her arms across her chest. "He loves me, and I love him. "

_Oh God!_ I sighed. Someone needs to put some sense into this lovesick teenager's brain!

"You need to open your eyes, Jane." I told her. "He doesn't love you; he loves your money."

"Oh really?" she smiled sarcastically, "And who told you this?"

"Please try to understand, for God's sake." I wanted to shake her. "That guy doesn't love you. Do you have any idea how you're ruining your future?"

"I don't need any of your advices." she said.

"Do you have any idea how immature you are?" I raised my voice.

"That's none of your concern." she said.

"Right, it's not my concern. I have no idea why I am wasting my energy by arguing with you."

"Then don't waste your energy." she snapped, "And you know what? You can't trap me in this house. I'm going out. I can do whatever I want."

"Go." I said, "I can't do anything if you want to waste your life."

"And look..." she said as she opened the door. "I'm warning you again. Stay away from my matters."

I shook my head.

A few seconds later, I heard her painful screaming.

* * *

"It happened because of me. She lost her temper after I argued with her. I shouldn't have let her go." I told Edward while doctors were operating on Jane. She had fallen down the stairs.

"No, it didn't." he said. "It's not your mistake."

I stared at him. Why was he so nice to me suddenly? Why wasn't he blasting at me anymore?

This was my mistake. This accident happened because of me. She's just a kid. I shouldn't have talked to her like that. I should have handled it differently. Why wasn't he angry at me now?

"A similar thing had happened years ago." he said, "I wish someone would had told me the same."


	16. Chapter 16

**EPOV**

"A similar thing had happened years ago." I said, "I wish someone would had told me the same."

_"I wanna tell you something funny." I wasn't sure if I should eavesdrop Tanya's conversation with her sister._

_"What's that? " Irina, her sister asked._

_"I had a funny conversation with Edward today." Tanya said._

_Which funny conversation? I didn't seem to remember._

_"Edward asked if I'd still want to marry him if he didn't have any of his money..." she laughed._

_"What did you tell?" Irina chuckled._

_"I said, 'What are you talking about, honey?'" she started in a dramatic tone. "'I love you, not your money. Why are you asking such a stupid question?'"_

_"You should had told him the truth, sis." Irina laughed._

_"You mean, I should had told him that I would have never dated him if he didn't have this 'Cullen' tag? That he was a pathetic idiot without his money?" Tanya laughed._

_It would be an understatement if I say I was shocked!_

_"You should had told him. It would have been fun." _

_"He would have started crying. 'Oh Tanya! What are you saying? I love you so much. I can't live without you.'" she said. "Pussy!" _

_"You're funny." Irina said._

_"By the way, he has written yet another cheesy poem for me yesterday. Let me share on our group." she said as she grabbed her phone._

_I was still in a shock to say anything. _

_"James just replied." she said few minutes later. "He's saying, 'Are you sure you want to marry this idiot just for his money? What the fuck is this poem? I have never read such a shit in my life.'" she laughed out loud._

_How could she share this with everyone? It was supposed to be 'our' thing. _

_I felt like I had been living in a delusion till that moment._

_I felt like my world was shattered._

_Tanya never loved me. _

_"Wow, Miss Tanya Denali, Wow!" I said, which startled both of them._

_"Edward? What are you doing here?" Tanya asked. _

_"What am I doing here? I wanted to take you out on a surprise date. 'Pussy me'. " I smiled sarcastically._

_"Edward, it's just..." _

_"Don't show me your fucking face again if you love your life." I snapped at her and left the place._

_Next few days were horrible. __I felt like I could go mad. How could she do this to me? I had trusted her blindly. She was my best friend. I had shared everything with her. And none of this mattered to her!  
_

_She had been calling me continuously since that day, but I ignored her. I can never tolerate liars. I knew I could never forgive her. I wanted to move on with my life, until... _

"What similar thing?" Bella's voice brought me back to the present.

"Nothing." I said.

_"Edward, I am really sorry." Tanya said with tear-struck eyes. _

_"Look, you should go now. You're just wasting your time. I think I've made this clear. I can never forgive you." I said. _

_"I really love you. It was a mistake." she said._

_"Just get out, Tanya. I don't want to see your fucking face." _

_"Edward, I love you." she said._

_"Just get lost." I grabbed her by her arm and opened the door. "I don't want to see your fucking face again." _

"God!" I buried my face in my palms.

"Are you okay, Edward?" Bella put her head on my shoulder. "I'm getting worried."

"Yeah I'm fine." I lied.

Irina's voice was still ringing in my ears.

_"It was not an accident, Edward. You killed Tanya. She was really sorry. She really wanted to work on your relationship, but you threw her out of your house. I was talking to her on phone while she was driving. She was continuously crying. She didn't fucking concentrate on driving. She was thinking about 'you', who didn't give a damn about her. You killed her, Mr Edward Cullen. You."_

**A/N: Multiple updates today! Yay!**


	17. Chapter 17

**EPOV**

Call me an asshole or a heartless bastard, I didn't care. I was one happy man when I got to know that Jane was doing fine and... she had a miscarriage! She was in shock, but she'd overcome it. Someday she'd realize that this was a blessing in disguise. She had no idea how that child could have ruined her future.

"Nachos were so good." Bella said.

It'd been few days since Jane was discharged from the hospital, and we all were trying to move to our normal routine. Bella and I were having some snacks while watching a movie.

"Do you know I always wanted a sibling. I used to beg my parents. I couldn't understand why can't they give me a small baby?" she smiled, "When I grew up, I got to know that my Mom had quite a complexity before and during her pregnancy. My parents had given up all the hopes that they could ever have a child. In fact, they say I'm a blessing."

"Yes, you're." I smiled.

I realized I have been happy lately. May be because finally I have decided to forget my past. It's been years since that accident had happened.

That's exactly what it was.

_An accident._

That was not my mistake.

I didn't kill her.

I wished I could have understood this earlier.

I wished I wouldn't had spent years feeling the guilt.

Well, better late than never!

Suddenly my eyes fell upon Bella's empty plate.

God! Why can't she put it in the kitchen?

How could she watch a movie so peacefully when there's an empty plate right in front of her.

"I think this girl is the murderer." she commented. "What do you think?"

"Hmmm?" I asked; my concentration was still on the empty plate.

_C'mon... don't focus on it. _I told myself. _There are so many good things about her. Can't you ignore her one or two ugly habits?_

_Well, I can't not focus._

Alright. I got up from the couch.

"I'll get some water." I said. I grabbed her plate and moved towards the kitchen.

_That was smooth._ I smirked.

"You could had told me if that empty plate was bothering you." Bella said and I froze at my place.

"Hmmm?" I turned around and asked.

"You could have told me. I would have put it in the kitchen by myself." she said.

"What are you talking about?" I smiled as I decided to play innocent.

"Don't lie." she said.

"I'm not lying." I smiled.

"You're a terrible liar, Edward." she said.

_"There's a simple rule. Never lie to your wife. " Dad said._

_"Oh is it?" _

_"Yeah. There's no point. Wives are dangerous creatures. They'll always catch your lies."_

I chuckled as I remembered this.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." I said.

"See, this is what I hate about you. You never share anything with me. It's always '_Nothing_!'" she shook her head.

"Sorry." I smiled.

Few moments later, I took the position on the couch and we focused on the movie.

Suddenly I realized she was staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." she said as if she was caught off guard.

"Hey, that's my word." I smiled.

_"Ha-ha!"_ she said.

"But tell me. You were staring."

"I was looking at your... five-o-clock shadow." she chuckled.

_What_?

"I know. I have to shave." I said as she roamed my fingers on my jaw.

"No." she said.

"What?"

"I didn't mean you need to shave." she said.

"Then why were you staring?" I asked.

"Nothing." she blushed as she laughed.

What?

"Wait! You want to kiss me, don't you?" I took a chance.


	18. Chapter 18

**JPOV**

None of these would had happened if Bella hadn't interfered in my life.

I wished she wouldn't had married Edward.

My life would been so peaceful and... _different_.

I would had married Riley. I know I am too young to get married, and I admit that marriage scares me to some extent, but I feel I am mature enough to commit myself to someone; Riley is no different from me. We could have been a perfect parents. We could had been living a wonderful life today, if not Bella Cullen had to spoil everything.

Bella took away my happiness from me, but everyone ignores this fact. They all think I'm a brainless, naive teenager, which I am not. I believe I am more mature than anyone of my age group. But they won't understand me. Everyone is on Bella's side. Earlier Edward used to understand me. He used to say I'm his princess and that he'd do anything for my happiness. But he's a changed man after his marriage.

"Brother is a brother only till he gets himself a wife." I muttered.

"What's up, sis?" Emmett's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey..." I grinned at my favorite person in this family. He's the only one who supports me to some extent. He always says I should do whatever I want. Thank God, Emmett isn't married yet. Who knows? He,like Edward, might get changed after the marriage!

"Want a cigarette?" he offered me.

"Yes, thanks." I said as grabbed it. Emmett was the coolest brother ever. He taught me how to be cool like him. He taught me how to live the life. He introduced me to smoking, alcohol and what not. I realized my life was so boring before I came across amazing things like those. Before that, I was a stupid girl whose focus used to be only on books and the school. Emmett made me realize that you got to live only once, and you should make the best use of it. After that, I became 'cool'. I made many new friends, in fact I made Riley only after that. But well, Riley is not in my life anymore; all because of Edward and his wife. I felt my anger rising again.

"So how are you doing now?" Emmett asked.

"I am fine." I replied.

Then we kept talking for next few minutes. I felt so relaxed talking to him.

"Oh he forgot his phone." I said I realized once Emmett left the room.

_Let me return it to him_, I thought. As I was on my way towards him, I realized messages were coming continuously on his phone.

_Who's so eager to talk to you, brother? An new girlfriend?_ I smirked and decided to have a look at notification panel. They were from Alice. I knew her. She was a good friend of Emmet.

_"C'mon.. Just admit it. You're not capable of harming her."_

_Harming whom?_

_"You have lost your touch, Em."_

_"Are you afraid of your big bro?"_

_What?_

_"I think Bella has beaten you in this game, Em."_

_"Just admit it, you coward."_

What the fuck?

Which game was she talking about?

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was on vacation.**


	19. Chapter 19

**BPOV**

"I know. I have to shave." Edward said as he roamed his fingers on his jaw.

"No." I blurted.

But how could I have controlled myself? Look at his jaw. I want to feel that thing on my... Wait! What was I thinking about?

"What?"

"I didn't mean you need to shave." I said.

"Then why were you staring?" he asked.

"Nothing." I blushed as I chuckled weakly. I felt I was going crazy.

"Wait! You want to kiss me, don't you?" he asked and I dropped my jaw.

Was I _that_ transparent?

"Answer me." he was smirking.

"Well... What if I say, _'Yes'_?" I asked in a seductive tone.

Alright, I was officially crazy.

"If it's a 'Yes', then slowly, I will pull you closer..." he said he grabbed me by waist and pulled me closer. "Then I will look into your eyes." he said as he looked deeply in my eyes. Oh my God! Look at those eyes. I felt I'm going to melt right there in his arms. "Then I will roam my hand on this beautiful face." he said as he did so. Gaah! This voice! I'm gone. I can't believe I'm falling for _my_ husband! "And then..."

"Then what?" I breathed.

"Then I'll kiss you." he said.

Then I waited... for him to do so, but he didn't! Instead, he released his grip from me and smiled, "I'll do all these, only if you say a... 'Yes'."

_What?_

How can he do this?

"Yes." I said.

"_Yes_?" he smiled.

"Yeah." I smiled back.

Then he kissed me. And that was nothing like he had mentioned.

He did pull me closer, but not _slowly_, like he had mentioned.

Instead, he pulled me closer and his lips were on mine at the very next second. It seems we both had waited so long for this moment.

"I forgot to mention one thing." he said.

"What?" I breathed.

"I might have asked you for a date also." he smiled.

"My answer would be the same." I smiled. "Yes."

* * *

"You know? For the past few days, I have been thinking about something." he said once we returned from our date.

"What?" I smiled. It felt I have been smiling a lot nowadays.

"I want to tell you about my past." he said. "'The heartbreak'." he smiled.

I would be lying if I say I didn't want to know about his past. I was curious.

Then he told me everything.

How he had loved Tanya, how he had to come to about the fact that his money, not he meant everything to her. I realized I immensely hated that woman. Then he told me about her accident and how her sister had put the blame of her death upon Edward. And I realized I hated her sister even more. How could she do this? And how could Edward believe her?

"You weren't responsible for her death. You should know that." I told him.

"Now I know." he said. "But that accident was beyond a shock for me. I thought I was responsible for it. I felt I shouldn't have talked to her like that. I know that now. But for past few years, I let Irina's words control my life. And by the way," he smiled, "You were right. Sharing your thoughts with someone, does make you feel good."

"Haah! You see I'm always right." I smiled back.

"I don't know I should I ask you or not." he said few minutes later. "But I'm curious to know about your past,too. That is only if you want to share." he said and I was sure, my face went pale!


	20. Chapter 20

**BPOV**

I can't tell him about Emmett. He won't understand. I feel I had completely forgotten about the existence of Emmett Cullen in these past few days; as if didn't matter to me at all. I realized this marriage was no more a _revenge with Emmett Cullen plan_ anymore.

What revenge?

What plan?

Everything seems so immature to me now.

But I have to tell the truth to Edward. He deserves to know the truth.

No! He won't believe me. Edward has trusting issues. I doubt he'd understand me. After hearing the truth, most probably he'd throw me out of his life.

No!

"Hey! It's okay if you don't want to share." he smiled.

"No, it's..."

"It's okay, Bella."

"I will tell you someday." I told him. I deeply hoped I'd be strong enough to live upto my words.

* * *

_"Are you kidding me, Alice? Emmett Cullen in the whole world? " I was speechless. How could my friend be this stupid?_

_"C'mon Bella... He loves me and I love him. I believe you're interfering way too much in my personal matter now." she replied._

_Okay, she was mad at me. I have heard that love is blind, but was seeing it for the first time. I guess, I need to open her eyes._

_And it was not a difficult task. I got a contact of a pole dancer through Rosalie. And she knew what she had to do!_

_Next we all met during the weekend yacht party._

_"That was not funny." I went on the stage and announced on mic. "I will show you something funny."_

_And I signaled James to play the video that I had shared with him earlier._

_' Naked Emmett Cullen doing a pole dance with a pole dancer.'_

_His face too good not to laugh at._

_"That video was from only three days ago. I hope you understand how much does he love you!" I told Alice._

_I thought I would never hear from Emmett Cullen again, but I did. After a month of that incident, he was at my place. He said he knew I would be shocked to see him at my place, but he wanted to meet me to tell me a... Thanks! He said I said I did a horrible thing by insulting him in front of everyone. But it was an eye-opening incident for him. He said he realized how cruel he had been to break everyone's heart. He said I had opened his eyes, and he would change himself. I said good for him._

_I hoped I'd never see him again._

_How wrong I was._

_A week later, we met again. He asked me if I would like to go on a dinner with him. I immediately rejected his request._

_But he was persistent. For three months, I had rejected his requests. I realized he was a changed man now. I never saw him fooling around. I thought he was sweet and charming, but I didn't think I'd want to go on a date with him._

_"Why don't you understand, Bella? I'm a changed man now. I know I have done many mistakes in my life, but shouldn't I get a chance to correct them? " One day, he asked._

_"I'm sorry, Emmett. I don't think it's a good idea." I replied._

_Then Alice had to tell me something that day._

_"I think he's in love with you, Bella. " she smiled._

_"But you said you loved him."_

_"Aah! That was just an attraction!" she said. "Emmett has changed a lot, Bella. He was always a good guy, just a bit of a casanova. I think he really cares for you. You should give him a chance."_

* * *

And I gave him a chance.

I was so stupid, so naive, so immature.

Why did I interfere in Alice's private matter?

Why couldn't I see that Alice wasn't a true friend? I still don't understand why she lied to me.

How could I have believed Emmett?

Why did the thought of 'revenge' even appear in my mind?

But what's done can't be undone.

What should I do now?

I wanted to correct my mistakes.

I want to take sensible decisions now onwards.

I want to spend my life with Edward, but I was too afraid to tell him the truth.

Because I knew the truth would be the end of our relationship.

He would never believe me.

He would never forgive me for the lies I have told him.

He would feel there's no difference between Tanya and me.

Then what should I do?

Suddenly I knew the answer.

I dialed Emmett's number.

"I want to meet you."


	21. Chapter 21

**JPOV**

I love cafes. You can sit here alone, and you can see others' activities. It's as if you're alone, but you're not lonely. I love that feeling.

After many days, I have been here today, and it felt good.

Suddenly my eyes froze at one table.

Bella and Emmett were sitting there.

What were they doing here?

My table's arrangement was such good that even if I was sitting away from them, I could clearly see them.

It seems they were arguing.

Emmett was smiling, but Bella seemed so serious.

They kept talking for few minutes.

It seemed Bella was pleading him.

Now Emmett seemed to be in a serious mood, too.

What were they talking about? I wanted to know.

Then Bella rose up and began walking out of the cafe.

Emmett was still sitting there.

What was going on?

I knew something was up for sure.

_"C'mon.. Just admit it. You're not capable of harming her."_

_"You have lost your touch, Em."_

_"Are you afraid of your big bro?"_

_"I think Bella has beaten you in this game, Em."_

_"Just admit it, you coward."_

I began repeating these messages again and again in my mind. What do these mean?

Why had Emmett refused to discuss anything that day?

_"What do these messaged mean, Emmett?" I asked him._

_"Why did you check my personal messages?" he asked as he grabbed the phone from me._

_"C'mon.. Tell me. What do these mean?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"'You're not capable of harming her.' What does this mean?"_

_"I'm getting late, Jane. Bye." he said as he rushed out._

I want to know what's going on.

"Hey!" I went to Emmett's table and smiled at him.

He seemed startled to find me there.

"Hey!" he smiled weakly.

"I hope you're not in hurry now." I smiled. "Tell me. What's going on between Bella and you? What did those messages mean?"

"Jane, it's..."

"I want to know the truth."

"Well..." he paused, "Bella and I are having an affair. Don't tell anyone." he said, "Please!"


	22. Chapter 22

**BPOV**

"This is difficult." Edward said.

"I know." I replied.

Well, I was _moving in_ to his room, and my husband is facing some difficulties as he doesn't like sharing his stuff with anyone!

"Hey, I have got an idea." he said.

"What?"

"Can't you keep your stuff in your room only? I mean, we'll share the bed, but for the wardrobe and all, you can use the other room. "

"_No_." I said incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Relax. I was just kidding." he laughed out loud.

"Very funny." I rolled my eyes.

Apparently my husband loves cracking lame jokes, and according to him, he loves to irritate me. He said he loves my nose when I'm mad at him.

"Okay, so I've emptied this side for you." he said, "But I have a request. Please keep it clean."

"Shut up." I snorted.

The last week had been a bliss. Edward and I spent every moment together. We both wanted the same thing - To be with each other. I guess, we were falling for each other.

I was still holding a secret from him, and it was killing me. But I didn't think I have the strength to tell him. Edward hates liars and I was not sure how would he react when he comes to know about the fact that I had agreed for this marriage to take a stupid revenge with his brother. He would never believe me. He would hate me. And I don't want to lose him.

That's why I had decided to meet Emmett.

_"So tell me. Why did you want to meet me?" Emmett gave his usual smug expressions when we met at the cafe._

_"Look... I would directly come to the point. I want to tell you something. You can consider it as a request." I started, "I want to forget about whatever happened in the past. I'm expecting the same from you. Please never mention our past in front of anyone. I'm requesting you. Please..."_

_"Huh! Tell me 'Please' again. I'm loving it." he chuckled._

_I hate this person. I guess I made a mistake by coming here._

_"Please. Don't mention it ever." I repeated._

_He laughed out loud._

_"If I wanted to mention it, I would have done it by now, dear sister-in-law." he smiled, "I might hate you, but I love my brother. I'd never want to see him getting hurt. So... Relax!"_

I still don't know if I've made a correct decision by trusting Emmett again?

Should I tell the truth to Edward?

No!

Not now.

May be I'd tell him someday, but I'm too coward to tell him right now.


	23. Chapter 23

**EPOV**

I couldn't believe how amazing my life was at the moment. I couldn't believe how amazing the decision of getting married had turned how to be.

I think I was falling in love with her. She's amazing. I feel I love everything about her. Even though I haven't told her those three words yet, it shouldn't be long before I do so.

But is she having the same feelings for me? I wasn't sure. I still remember what she had told me when she had come up with this 'marriage proposal'.

_"I was crazily in love with someone; I still am. I can't see myself loving anybody else except him. But I am well aware of the fact that my parents would never live in a peace till I'm single." she smiled weakly, "After hearing from your side I began to think it may be a good thing if we make an agreement instead of getting married to someone who would have a lot of expectations from us."_

I wondered if she'd want to move on.

I wondered if she could ever love me like she loved that person.

I hope she does.

* * *

"There's something really important I want to tell you." Jane said. I was surprised when Jane had called to tell me that she wanted to meet me. I asked her to meet me at my office. After her accident, she had stopped talking to me and Bella. She was holding Bella responsible for her accident and her miscarriage, which I didn't agree at all. I loved my sister, but there was no way Bella was responsible for her miscarriage.

"Tell me." I smiled, "How are you doing nowadays?"

"I'm doing well." she said. "I want to tell you something important, Edward."

"Yeah tell me."

"I know it'd be shocking for you, but..."

"Come to the point, Jane." I said.

"Actually it's about Emmett and Bella." she said.

"What about them?" I was curious now.

"They are having an affair, Edward." she said.

"_What_?" I snapped.

"Please believe me. I saw them multiple times at different places. They're having an affair behind your back. Last week also I had seem them at the cafe. They seemed very... intimate. I swear, Edward." she said.

"Are you done?" I snapped. "I know you have problems with Bella, but that doesn't mean you can talk anything about her."

"I'm not lying, Edward. Believe me." she said.

"I think you can leave now." I told her.

* * *

"Have you heard from Emmett recently?" I asked Bella that evening.

"Hmmm?" she seemed startled.

"I said, have you heard from Emmett?"

"No. Not since we met him at your parents' house last month. Why?" she smiled weakly.

"Nothing." I replied.


	24. Chapter 24

**EPOV**

"I have a call to attend. We'll take dinner afterwards." I said as I placed a kiss on her lips and moved to our room.

I couldn't concentrate at all during the whole call. Why was I still thinking about Jane's bullshit? Why did I ask Bella about Emmett? I shouldn't doubt her.

But she seemed startled when I asked about Emmett.

_Just shut up, Edward._

How could you doubt her?

She was not Tanya.

She wouldn't betray me.

Right?

Right.

"Sorry, I have to drop the call as I have to look at some other urgent matter. You guys continue." I said and drop the call. Anyway, I had no idea what they were talking about!

I went to the kitchen.

"So what's for the dinner?" I smiled as I placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Your call got over early today?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Had a busy day today? You seem tired." she said she put her arms around my shoulder.

"Yeah a bit." I said as I kissed her.

"By the way, how was your shopping with Rosalie today?" I asked.

"Oh! It was great." she chuckled.

"What's so funny?" I smiled.

"I bought few lingerie today."

"May be we should skip the dinner then." I winked.

"No!" she said. "I put so much efforts to prepare this Italian dinner."

"I can't wait to see you in those lingerie." I said I kissed her neck.

"I will give you a fashion show after the dinner."

"Can't wait for that."

* * *

"I'm a baby doll. How am I looking?" she asked in a seductive tone and then burst into a laughter.

"Aah! You're killing me, baby."

"Wait! I'll show you this one,too." she said and went to change.

That's when I received a call from Emmett.

"Yeah tell me." I said.

"Look Edward, don't believe whatever Jane said. There's nothing like that."

"Howz this?" Bella whispered as she came out. I winked and gave her a thumbs up.

"Now this." she said as she went to change it.

"We're not having an affair. Look, we had a small stint, but it was before your wedding."

_What?_

"When I had come to know about the fact that our family is planning your and Bella's wedding, I had immediately broken up with her. I never wanted to be in a way of your happiness, you know? Believe me. We're not having an affair."

I dropped the call.

I guess, I wanted answers from Bella now.


	25. Chapter 25

**BPOV**

I'm going to tell him today. It was killing me that I was keeping a secret from him.

But how would he react?

My heart was telling me he'd forgive me.

But my mind was telling me something else. Edward won't forgive me. He hates liars. He'd feel I betrayed him.

But I have to tell him someday, right?

_You better do it as early as possible. _I told myself.

Okay, I'll tell him today, I decided.

"Hey..." he said as he returned from the office.

_Tell him today._ I was continuously reminding myself.

"Have you heard from Emmett recently?" he asked me and that caught me off guard.

"Hmmm?" I asked.

"I said, have you heard from Emmett?"

"No. Not since we met him at your parents' house last month. Why?" I smiled weakly.

"Nothing." he replied. "I have a call to attend. We'll take dinner afterwards." he said as he placed a kiss on my lips and moved towards our room.

I stood there in a same position for few minutes.

Why was he asking about Emmett? Does he know something?

No, he can't be!

And I realized I was too coward to tell him anything.

He'll leave me for sure if he knows the truth; and I can't bear the thought of being away from him.

I guess, I was falling in love with him.

* * *

"I'm a baby doll. How am I looking?" I asked in a seductive tone and then burst into a laughter.

"Aah! You're killing me, baby."

"Wait! I'll show you this one,too." I said and went to change.

Edward was in great mood tonight, and I didn't want spoil it by trying to tell him the truth. May be I'd tell him some other day.

He was on a phone when I returned to the room.

"Howz this?" I whispered. I giggled as he winked and gave me a thumbs up.

"Now this." I said as I went to change it. I couldn't believe how much I fun I was having in trying out all the lingerie which I bought today.

When I returned, he wasn't talking on phone, but he seemed lost in thoughts.

"Hey!" I went to him and placed a kiss on his lips. "What are you thinking?"

"I want to know about your past." he said in an emotionless tone. "About your heartbreak."

Why is he asking me about it right now?

What should I tell him? That there was no heartbreak, just a stupid revenge plan?

"Is that Emmett?" he asked, and I felt like someone stabbed me in a stomach. "Were you in love with each other before we got married?"

"No, Edward... It's not..." I felt like my world was ending.

"I have been nothing but honest with you from beginning, Bella. I never lied to you about anything. Is it wrong of me to expect some honesty in return?" he asked.


	26. Chapter 26

**BPOV**

"Is that Emmett?" he asked, and I felt like someone stabbed me in a stomach. "Were you in love with each other before we got married?"

"No, Edward... It's not..." I felt like my world was ending.

"I have been nothing but honest with you from beginning, Bella. I never lied to you about anything. Is it wrong of me to expect some honesty in return?" he asked.

"I was... I was going to tell you about this." I said. I felt I could burst into tears at any moment. How did he come to know about this? Emmett must have told him. _Fucker_.

_Why God? _Why did you do this? I was going to tell him. I felt like I could start crying at any moment.

"So it's true then? Man, I can't believe this." he shook his head and got up from the bed.

"Edward, I..."

"How could you hide such a thing from me? If Emmett and you were in love with each other, why did you marry me? How could you?" he asked incredulously.

"We were not in love." I said. Why was he thinking like that?

"Don't lie to me, Bella. I guess I have been in dark for a long time. I want to know the truth now. Only truth." he said. His expressions were scaring me now.

"We were not in love." I said weakly. That was not love.

"I remember, you had said you were crazily in love with someone, and you can't forget him." he snapped, "I don't understand. What was the need to forget him? You could have married him."

"Edward!" I looked at him in disbelief.

"Why are you sounding so surprised? I am just stating the simple fact. You could have married him. What was the need of marrying me?" he asked.

"Listen to me at least." I said.

"Yeah tell me. I'm all here for that." he said. Annoyance and hurt was apparent in his voice.

"I... I had lied when I told you I was in love with someone. There was no heartbreak." I began.

"_What_?" he seemed surprised and this was just the beginning.

I have to do it. I have to tell him everything.

And I did.

He didn't react.

"Edward, I..."

"I can't believe this. I just can't fucking believe this." he muttered.

"Edward, I... Please, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you earlier, but..."

"Stay away from me, Bella." he said as he rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.


	27. Chapter 27

**BPOV**

I should have told him earlier. But what difference that would have made? He would have felt the same anger even if I had told him earlier. Or may be not? I didn't know.

What's he doing right now? Should I go and check?

I went out of the room and realized he was sitting on the couch of the drawing room, his head resting on the back of the couch and his eyes closed.

"Edward… I'm sorry."

"Leave me alone, Bella." he said without opening his eyes.

May be I should leave him alone right now. He had every right to be mad at me. I had hidden such a huge thing from him. May be he needed time. But he'd forgive me after some time right? What if he doesn't?

I went to our room, repeating the same things in my mind.

Suddenly the door got opened after some time and he entered the room.

"Edward, please…"

He never looked at me as he grabbed his laptop and phone, and left the room again.

_He's never going to forgive you._ My mind said.

_No, he will._ My heart hoped.

* * *

Next morning, Edward entered in room. He opened his wardrobe and took out his clothes while still talking on the phone. He never looked at me, not even once.

"What do you mean they didn't get the time for it. If I can stay awake whole night for the work, so can they. I want the presentation ready by 11 at any cost." He was shouting on the phone.

I shook my head. So he's going to take his anger out on his employees? God, help them!

* * *

It's been few minutes since Edward had returned from work. I hoped he'd say something. I wanted to ask how was his day, but I was afraid he'd tell me to leave him alone. He was not even looking at me. It was killing me.

"I have got three versions of the story." he broke the silence.

He was talking to… _me_? For the first time since last night, he was looking at me. Suddenly I got a hope. May be he'd forgive me?

"One from Jane, one from Emmett and the other one from you."

Jane?

"Jane said Emmett and you're having an affair." he said.

"_No._" I gasped. How could she say a stuff life that? Why would she even talk to Edward about me and Emmett?

"Then there's Emmett's story." he continued. "He says he was in love with you, but sacrificed his love when he got to know that you were supposed to marry me."

"No. He's lying. There was no love. "

"Then there's your story." he smiled sarcastically.

"I'm not lying, Edward."

"So these were the three different versions of the story. But these different versions are not the problem." he paused, "The problem is, I want to believe your version."


	28. Chapter 28

**BPOV**

"So these were the three different versions of the story. But these different versions are not the problem." he paused, "The problem is, I want to believe your version."

I don't think if any words had ever made me happier. But before I could say something, it seemed he regretted his decision.

"I shouldn't have said that." he said as he got up from the couch.

"Edward..."

"Stay away from me." he said as he moved towards our room.

I sighed. It seemed the Edward of past few days was gone. He was once again the same Edward who didn't like to share his feelings, the one whose mood swings used to give me whiplash.

But I think I had no right to blame him.

He had trusted me.

He had learned sharing things with me.

But I have broken his trust by hiding such a big thing from him.

_ "The problem is, I want to believe your version."_

I repeated the line again in my mind.

He wanted to believe me.

Someday he might actually believe me.

I just need to give him some time.

That's when I received a text from Emmett.

_"I won! ;)_

_-E"_

I shook my head.

What does that bastard think of himself? How dare he told Edward that he was in love with me? What was I even thinking when I had trusted him again to hide the thing from Edward?

I should have known that he'd tell Edward.

And Jane?

How did she even come to know about this? Emmett must had told her the false story.

_"Jane told me Emmett and you are having an affair."_

I remembered Edward's words. How could she?

If I had been older Bella, I would have loved to take a 'revenge' with them.

But I am not that Bella anymore.

This Bella doesn't care about revenge or any other stupidity anymore.

This Bella is in love.

She just wants her husband to trust her and love her.

_"Yes, you win!_

_-B"_

I pressed the 'send' button and closed the chapter which should have ended a long time back.


	29. Chapter 29

**EPOV**

_What_?

This was a shock for me.

Never in my life I had faced such a moment.

This woman has completely spoiled my life.

I used to be so balanced and organized before she entered in my life.

And now look at this.

_There was no coffee in my house!_

This was a crisis.

I sighed. What did I even like in Bella?

She was so irresponsible.

She loves to keep this house untidy.

She can watch the movie on television even if there are dirty, empty bowl and plates lying around her on the couch. How can that not bother her at all? I shook my head.

She was a liar.

She loves hiding stuff from her husband.

There's nothing to like about her.

No, there is.

In fact, there are many things to like about her.

I like the way she laughs.

I like the way she makes me laugh.

I love the way she cares for my family.

I love the way she tells me on my face that she hates my over-the-top love for tidiness and perfectness.

I love...

What's wrong with you, Edward?

You've got no coffee in your house and you're thinking about likes and dislikes of your wife?

I sighed.

I felt helpless.

I can't start my day without coffee.

May be I should order it from somewhere. I can't live without coffee.

"It's here." Suddenly Bella was here and she handed me the bottle of coffee.

How the fuck did she find it? I was hundred percent sure I had checked there!

"I don't want it." I said and she shook her head.

"So stubborn." she muttered.

_Excuse me? _

She had no right to call me stubborn. In fact, she had no right to call me anything.

_"The problem is, I want to believe your version."_

Why the hell had I told her that? I shouldn't believe her.

But I don't believe Emmett and Jane either.

I think I know Bella well enough to have a confidence in her that she wouldn't be having an affair with Emmett, or with anyone. So there was no way I should believe Jane.

And Emmett? I think I know my brother well enough. I'm sure he was never in love with Bella. And if he were, there was no way he would had sacrificed his love just for the sake that I was about to marry Bella. So I knew his story was a hoax, too.

And then there's Bella's story, which is quite ridiculous, too, but I wanted to believe it. But why did I want to do that? I had no idea.

Fuck.

My life is so crazy.

Everyone around me wants revenge with everyone.

What the fuck is this shit?

Well, I think I want a cup of coffee.

I grabbed the bottle from Bella's hand.

I was sure I had seen her smiling.

_I hate that smile,_ I thought, _But well, anything for coffee._


	30. Chapter 30

**BPOV**

"I want to talk to you." Edward said.

"_Me?_" I asked unconsciously.

"Yes." he said. Okay, seems like coffee has done its magic and he actually wants to have a talk like a normal person.

"On the scale of one to ten, how serious are you about our relationship?" he asked.

"What kind of question is this? Of course, I am serious. I agree I made a mistake in the past, and I am really sorry for that. I can't change the past, and I can't change my stupid mistakes. But I want to move on with you. I want to win your trust back. I want to give everything to save our relationship." I desperately wanted him to believe me.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I was scared of losing you." I said.

"Why do you think I should believe you, and not my own brother?" He kept asking questions in a robotic tone.

"Your brother is not trustworthy, and even you know this."

God, what did I even like in this person?

There's nothing to like about him.

He keeps talking in emotionless tone.

He's so stubborn.

He's got world's worst possible siblings.

He expects over-the-top tidiness from everyone.

He demands perfection from everyone around him.

Yeah, there's nothing to like about him.

No, there is.

I like the way he's protective about his family.

I like the way he cares for my family.

I love the way he teases me.

I love the way he looks at me.

I love...

"How can you marry a brother of a person who had betrayed you like that?" he asked, again in a robotic tone.

"I don't know. To be honest, there was only thing running in my mind at that time. I wanted a revenge with Emmett Cullen."

"So you got your revenge?" he asked, first time showing some emotions.

"I don't know. And it doesn't matter to me anymore." I decided to be honest, "You're the only one who matters to me right now. I don't give a damn about anything else."

"I want to believe you." he said. "But I don't know how to trust you."

"Give me one chance. I promise I will never give you a chance to complain. Please... Give me one chance to correct my mistake. " I was sure I have never been so desperate in my life. Now I know why people say that love makes you crazy.

"I think I want to have a talk with Emmett." he said.


	31. Chapter 31

**EPOV**

"I know you lied, but I want to know the need for that." I asked Jane.

"Why would I lie, Edward? I've got no reason to put such a blame on Bella." she said.

"Yes, you have got a reason. I know you hold Bella responsible for your breakup and miscarriage." I said, "But you should know that she was not responsible for your miscarriage. And regarding the end of your relationship with that dude? You're going to thank us someday." I said.

"Yes, I agree I have some problems with Bella. But I swear I'm not lying this time. Emmett told me by himself that they're having an affair."

"That's a lie and I think you should know that." I said.

_Emmett_.

He always manages to surprise me.

He had surprised me when he had spoiled our parents' marriage anniversary party by getting drunk and creating a scene. Mom was so ashamed; she didn't even talk to him for days.

He had surprised me when he had become the first of Cullen family to go to jail because of some fight in pub. Dad was so mad at him, he even refused to arrange his bail. I had to do the task.

He had surprised me when I caught him teaching Jane how to smoke a cigar. We had quite an argument that day.

And seems like, yet again he has managed to surprise me.

This time he has crossed the limits. How could he tell Jane that he's having an affair with Bella?

"Yeah bro. Tell me." he said as he entered in my cabin.

"Why did you lie to me?" I directly asked him.

"What? When did I lie?" he said. I was aware of the fact that he was a smooth liar.

I took a deep breath. "Why did you tell me that you were in love with Bella before we got married?"

"I didn't lie." he said.

"I know you did." I said, "I just want to know your reasons."

Suddenly he burst into laughter. "So your wife told you everything and you're believing her, right?"

"Alright... Alright." he continued without waiting for my response, "I don't know what exactly she told you, but I can say she might be telling you the truth. It was a game for me. She insulted me and I wanted a revenge at any cost. And I thought she'd never get married to you, but somehow that happened. I must say she beat me there. And you do know that I don't like losing. I waited for the correct moment to attack. That's why I lied to you and also to Jane. And then..."

I don't consider myself a violent person, but at that moment I wanted to punch him.

"Just get out of here before I kill you." I ordered.


	32. Chapter 32

**Few Months Later**

**BPOV**

"It's our turn." I told my husband.

"No, it's yours." he replied in a groggy voice.

We were having an argument over whose turn it is to make the morning coffee. And I knew that like everyday, he'd give in.

Edward says I'm changing him. He used to hate losing arguments, but he's developing a habit of losing against me, and surprisingly he's loving it.

I'd say he's changing me, too. I try to match his tidiness and perfection level and I'd say I'm quite enjoying it.

He says he loves sharing things with me.

I love that, too. That makes me feel special because I know I'm the only one in the world with whom he shares everything.

I thought I had lost him few months ago. I'm so glad he had given me another chance. I had wondered why Emmett had told him the truth, but then I got the answer right from the horse's mouth. Emmett said he loves winning against someone who's actually playing. He said I had already given up when I had sent him that _'You won!'_ message, and he didn't like playing against someone who gives up. Anyway, I was glad that chapter was closed for good.

A lot of things have changed in these last months, few have remained same though.

Jane was changed a bit in these past months. She still holds a grudge against me, but her behavior towards me had improved a bit. I have a hope one day she might come around and forgive me completely.

Edward still doesn't talk to Emmett unless there's an important matter. And I don't mind it. I want to stay away as far as possible from that person.

Sometimes I look back and it still seems crazy how Edward and I had got married.

We both agree that it was stupidest decision we had ever taken.

But we're glad we had taken that decision.

Because it had turned out to be the best one.

**THE END**

**A/N: Thanks for reading! :)**


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